To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Barr hails national ID card defeat
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 2 Oct 1999 10:16:41 +0000

From: research-bpr@philologos.org (Moza)

BARR HAILS NATIONAL ID CARD DEFEAT
HOUSE ACTION TERMINATES PROGRAM

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Representative Bob Barr (GA-7) hailed the
inclusion of language in the Transportation Appropriations Conference
Report for FY 2000 that permanently repeals a statute authorizing the
creation of a national identification card. Today's action
permanently deletes a law passed in 1996 which would have mandated
specific requirements for state drivers licenses, and required that
they be linked to Social Security numbers. In effect, the 1996
provision aimed to create a standardized national I.D. system.

The scheduled implementation of the system was temporarily blocked
last year when Barr added language to the transportation bill
postponing the ID's implementation for one year. Following public
concerns expressed throughout the year, House Majority Leader Dick
Armey (R-TX) championed a permanent ban in this year's bill with
Barr's support. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL) successfully added a
similar provision in companion legislation in the United States
Senate.

"Perhaps nothing is more emblematic of the freedom we enjoy as
Americans than the fact that we do not have to carry a permanent
identification card everywhere we go. Throughout history, national
identification systems have been a consistent feature of dictatorial
states that placed a low value on freedom, and a high value on keeping
tabs on everyone," said Barr.

"The millions of citizens who fought to end the national
identification card deserve thanks for their successful efforts.
However, we should never forget that there will always be some willing
to sacrifice individual liberties in order to pursue policy goals. We
must remain alert to such threats, and fight them whenever and
wherever they appear," Barr concluded.

Barr, a former United States Attorney, serves on the House Banking,
Judiciary, and Government Reform Committees.

via: isml@onelist.com

--- BPR

BPR Web Site - http://philologos.org/bpr

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Briton finds Atlantis in Bolivia
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 2 Oct 1999 10:18:30 +0000

From: research-bpr@philologos.org (Moza)

From
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19991001/sc/bolivia_atlantis_1.html
-
Friday October 1 6:07 PM ET

Briton Finds Atlantis In Bolivia
By Carlos Quiroga

LA PAZ, Bolivia (Reuters) - The legendary lost continent of Atlantis,
which was thought to be buried in a torrent of water, may sit 12,000
feet above sea level in Bolivia, a British explorer said Friday.

``It is time to officially declare to Bolivia and the world that
Bolivia is where the legendary city most probably existed out of any
other possible site in the world,'' Jim Allen told a press conference.

Allen, a former Royal Air Force photographic interpreter and author of
``Atlantis: the Andes Solution,'' has devoted the last 20 years of his
life to prove his theory.

Allen believes that Quillacas, a town of 1,000 people located 187
miles (300 kms) south of capital city La Paz, was the center of the
lost continent.

The town is in a volcanic area and its buildings are constructed with
red and black rock in line with the description of Atlantis penned by
the Greek philosopher Plato in the fourth century B.C., Allen said.

The Bolivian altiplano -- flooded by heavy rains tens of thousands of
years ago -- has at least 50 characteristics that coincide with
Plato's tale, Allen said. Perhaps the most important is the remains of
an enormous channel 600 feet (180 meters) wide that matches Plato's
description of Atlantis' irrigation canal.

The Greek sage also said the walls of the fabled city were plated in
gold, silver, bronze, tin and ``orichalcum,'' a natural alloy of gold
and copper found only in the Andes.'' Defenders of Allen's theory note
all those metals are found close to Lake Poopo near La Paz.

Plato, who wrote of the demise of the splendid civilization, depicted
Atlantis as a series of islands, with one dwarfing the others in size.

``The whole region rose sheer out of the sea to a great height, but
the part about the city was all smooth plain, enclosing it round about
and being itself encircled by mountains that stretched as far as the
sea,'' the philosopher wrote.

Bolivian congressman Jose Luis Paredes and geologist Carlos Aliaga
hailed Allen's announcement as ``transcending international borders''.

The altiplano takes up 10 percent of Bolivia and is the largest plain
in the world. It is flanked by the Andes mountains, which to the west
extends almost to the Pacific Ocean.

The plateau was flooded periodically by heavy rains and covered by an
inland sea between 25,000 and 40,000 years ago. The receding waters
left behind two enormous lakes, Poopo and Titicaca.

``South Americans shouldn't call themselves South Americans, but
rather Atlantians,'' Allen said.

via: isml@onelist.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Weekend News Today items (10/01/99)
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 2 Oct 1999 10:26:27 +0000

From: research-bpr@philologos.org (Moza)

Egypt, King of South, prepares for war

Weekend News Today
By Kelly Pagatpatan
Source: Jerusalem Post

Fri Oct 1,1999 -- The army doesn't want to say it out loud, but behind
closed doors the IDF is changing its attitude about Egypt. This past
spring, the Egyptian Armed Forces made a deal to purchase 10,800
rounds of 120mm smoothbore KEW-A1 ammunition for its M1A1 battle
tanks. Just another arms purchase in the Middle East, only the KEW-A1
is a new version of the armor-piercing "silver bullet" made out of
depleted uranium and said to be able to defeat any armor system on
earth. The US used the depleted uranium rounds with deadly efficiency
in the Gulf War, where 4,000 Iraqi tanks and armored vehicles were
destroyed and battlefields are still ticking with radioactivity,
according to the Christian Science Monitor. The DU rounds have long
been in the IDF's arsenal, the Christian Science Monitor says. But now
that Egypt is getting them, well, that's probably enough to make the
boys in IDF intelligence sit up, not to mention the crews of Israel's
vaunted Merkava tanks. Since 1979, Egypt has received more than $35
billion in US military aid and economic assistance and spent some $25
billion on arms. It's armed forces are midway through a 10-year
modernization plan and nearly half of its 3,100 tanks are Western,
including 555 M1s, according to Jane's World Armies. Eleven of its 12
divisions are now fully mechanized or armored and it has cut its army
personnel from about 600,000 to 310,000 over the past 20 years,
carrying through efforts to build a mobile and efficient force,
according to Jane's. But Egypt's most impressive achievement has been
its air force, which the Middle East Military Balance described as
undergoing "the most far-reaching transformation of any air arm in the
Middle East." Egypt has about 200 F-16s of the advanced C and D class
and some two dozen Mirage 2000 interceptors. The rest of its air force
is an assortment of older MiG 21s, F-4s and old Mirage fighters.
"Egyptian aircraft are equipped with such interception-enhancement
precision-guided munitions systems as infrared and advanced
electromagnetic missiles, which Israeli aircraft do not have," the
Military Balance writes. It added that the Egyptian air force was a
"potent deterrence" and that Israel would have to take Egypt into
consideration even if it was not directly involved in hostilities on
another front. It also noted that Egypt's air power had the capability
to block Mediterranean or Red Sea shipping routes, a factor which
cannot be lost on historians who know that the '56 and '67 wars with
Egypt were started as a result of a sea blockade on the Jewish state.
The Egyptian navy, too, is considered the most powerful in the Eastern
Mediterranean. It recently acquired four Perry-class frigates and its
corvettes are armed with SM-1 standard surface-to-air missiles, MK-46
anti-submarine torpedoes and some have anti-ship Harpoon missiles that
are actually more advanced than those in the Israeli navy. Its large
vessels enable the Egyptian navy to transport large numbers of forces
to distant places. Egypt, of course, has had surface-to-surface
missiles since early 1973 and has two missile brigades today, one with
Scud Bs and the other with FROG-7s. Some reports say that Egypt has
acquired the Scud C, which puts anywhere in Israel under its range.
Israeli commanders describe the improvements undertaken by the
Egyptian military as nothing less than "amazing" and "scary." A few
years ago, Egypt was a very marginal actor in the IDF threat
assessment. But slowly Egypt has been moving front and center, and its
increasingly sophisticated and Western military today represents, on
paper, the biggest conventional military danger to the IDF - a status
derived from an IDF decision to take into account the risk of a
possible conflagration with Egypt. IDF commanders are reluctant to
speak publicly of the Egyptian arms buildup since the two countries
are formally at peace. But privately they have expressed concern over
the aggressive character of the buildup. The IDF is caught in a double
bind. It sees the Egyptian army preparing to fight, yet is hesitant to
call Egypt an enemy out of fear of turning it into one. "It is
unlikely that Egypt is developing this gigantic system against Libya
and Sudan. What worries those in the military is the level of
intention and the direction the Egyptian military buildup is taking.
Most of all is the fact that peace remains thin and is largely a
government-to-government interaction," says Shai Feldman, head of Tel
Aviv University's Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies. Today, there is
a need to prove that a neighboring force poses a clear and present
danger. The main clear and present danger for Israel today, consensus
holds, is from a non-neighboring state like Iran using weapons of mass
destruction, probably with medium-range ballistic missiles. "The
probability of war with Egypt," they say, "is close to zero." But this
could change if: 1. Israel goes to war with Syria and Egypt sees this
as Israeli aggression. It could then join in an Arab coalition against
Israel. 2. A full-scale conflict erupts between Israel and the
Palestinians - a more probable scenario - leading to total chaos, lots
of bloodshed and possible damage to holy sites, which will put the
entire Mideast peace process at risk. It's expected in intelligence
circles that Egypt, which blazed the trail to peace with the Jewish
state and suffered isolation because of it, would step in firmly on
the Palestinians' side. 3. A fundamentalist coup occurs in Egypt, an
uncontrollable event.

EU President Prodi visits Auschwitz

Weekend News Today
By Kelly Pagatpatan
Source: AP

Fri Oct 1,1999 -- In a potent symbol of the European Union's
commitment to peace and human rights, European Commission President
Romano Prodi visited the former Nazi death camp of Auschwitz today.
Prodi visited some of the red-brick barracks where inmates were
housed, laid a wreath at the concrete Death Wall, where prisoners were
executed, and inscribed a message in the visitor's book. ``The new
Europe has to be the Europe of rights recognized and practiced; the
Europe of free people living in solidarity; the Europe that enforces
right and justice,'' Prodi wrote. ``If you want to build a united
Europe, you have to start with memory, with what has happened,'' Prodi
said after arriving in Poland on Thursday. In Warsaw, he discussed
Poland's aspirations to join the EU by 2003 with Prime Minister Jerzy
Buzek and President Aleksander Kwasniewski. ``I am really working to
speed up all the process of enlargement,'' Prodi told reporters before
talks with Buzek. ``I think we have to take a decision very soon.''
Prodi, who took office Sept. 15, would like the EU to decide on the
date for eastward expansion during a summit in Helsinki on Dec. 11-12.
But the proposal is opposed by some EU nations who fear it will give
rise to false hopes as new members have to meet stringent entry
requirements, which could take years.

Right-wing activists looking to purchase land on Temple Mount

Weekend News Today
By Andra Brack
Source: Ha'aretz

Fri Oct 1,1999 -- Jewish right-wingers are stepping up their campaign
to snap up land at the heart of the Temple Mount. The 3-dunam plot is
registered as a family Waqf (Moslem trust) under the name of the Abu
Saoud family, and is not, officially at least, a part of the general
Waqf, currently controlled by the Palestinian Authority and previously
controlled by Jordan. At the center of the initiative is Esther
Abutbul, formerly head of the Jerusalem office of the right-wing
political party Tehiya, and a long-time member of the Temple Mount
Faithful. Abutbul is working with Jewish and Arab realtors. One of the
realtors is currently looking in Jordan for the heirs of Mrs. Abu
Saoud, who passed away several years ago. Abutbul, who has
participated in hundreds of attempts to gain entry to the Temple Mount
for organized Jewish prayers, says that if large sums of money must be
raised to realize the goal of Jewish control of the Mount, then the
funds must be found. Abutbul tried to buy the plot a decade ago, and
even managed to raise $220,000 to this end, but at the last minute the
Arab realtor involved in the deal changed his mind and pulled out.
Azmi Abu Saoud, a member of the family and a prominent official at
Orient House in East Jerusalem, told Ha'aretz that he cannot imagine
that any member of his family, whether in Israel or in Jordan, would
dare transfer a part of the property into Jewish hands. Abu Saoud said
that while the property is still considered to be family-owned, the
Muslim Waqf has been entrusted with its management. "Even if someone
were to claim they purchased rights to the property, they would be
dealing with the Waqf, not us. Today this area is an integral part of
the Al Aqsa Mosque, and any person - Jewish or not - who paid for it
would risk their money.

China holds parade on anniversary displaying military might

Weekend News Today
By Kelly Pagatpatan
Source: Reuters

Fri Oct 1,1999 -- China rolled out its most modern weapons on Friday
to mark the 50th anniversary of Communist rule, a display aimed, at
least in part, at rival Taiwan and its U.S. backers. Models of the
intercontinental ballistic missile Dong Feng-31 (East Wind-31) on
hard-to-find mobile launchers rumbled past Tiananmen Square, the
centre of student-led demonstrations for democracy crushed by the army
in 1989. Warplanes, including the new indigenous Flying Leopard
fighter bomber, flew past the Gate of Heavenly Peace, where head of
state, military chief and Communist Party leader Jiang Zemin watched a
huge military parade with politburo colleagues. The display of might
came amid a bitter row with Taipei over Taiwan President Lee
Teng-hui's July declaration of political equality which enraged
Beijing, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province. Beijing, which
insists Taiwan must be reunified with the motherland, saw Lee's move
as a "dangerous" lurch towards independence. It has threatened to
invade if Taiwan declares independence and Friday's military parade --
the first since 1984 and the biggest ever -- showed off China's
anti-aircraft and anti-ship missiles.

via: bible_prophecy-news@onelist.com

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Silver and Gold
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 02 Oct 1999 12:45:53 -0500

From: research-bpr@philologos.org (Moza)

pre-trib-news - http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Rhodes/7895

Cast your Silver and Gold to the Streets!

Have you ever wondered what goes through the mind's of the
Globalist's as they scheme their plots for world
domination? It's pretty scary when you think about it... trying
to worm your way into a deranged mind bent on power
and conquest, hoping to gain some sort of enlightened vision
of things yet to come. If your not careful, one day you
can wake up to look in the mirror and realize you've turned
into Art Bell. (Now there's a scary thought....)

I did just that when I realized I had been at the computer
for 12 hours last night trying to figure out how they were
going to introduce a global currency. It seemed the current
articles floating throughout the christian circles weren't
adequate in terms of introduction. So my search led me to find
that countries such as Switzerland and Britain have
been selling off their gold reserves and investing into the
internet. Curios.. how the standard since civilization began
could shift so quickly and recklessly into cyberspace. Suddenly
it dawned on me that the flickering screen at which I
was staring turned out to be the answer all along. It is truly
terrifying how well orchestrated the New World regime
is...

A report by the Electronic Telegraph states that In the near
future, money as we know it - as government-issued
coins and paper currency - will be replaced with an electronic
currency issued by private corporations on the
Internet...

In this utopian electronic economy, e-currency will flow freely
around the world; it will be accepted everywhere;
there will be no exchange fees or currency fluctuations. The
plan appears to be well drawn out this very day.

"It's difficult to put a time frame to it, but it's likely
that we won't be using the 'dollar, pound or the euro'", says Ian
Pearson, a BT futurologist. "It won't happen overnight and it will be
an evolutionary change, but in my view it's inevitable. The pound,
dollar and the euro will become quaint collectors' items in the next
century."

The catalyst for this economic revolution is, of course, the
Internet, as well as the emergence of the global market.
Theoretically, more than one e-currency will appear because
consumers will demand it. Says Pearson: "What
consumers want is to be able to use their money on any site
anywhere in the world without incurring exchange
charges and paying commissions. It is likely that a group of
private companies could create such a currency, which every
website would accept as a form of money. I doubt that people
will continue to use national currencies when they can use
a world currency."

The subsequent evolutionary step is harder to imagine, but
far from impossible. Because consumers would be using
this new currency, they would demand to be paid in it. And
if that happens, says Pearson, "the next stage is to
download it on to a smart card so it could be used for buses
and shops and buying a round in a pub".

You say this sounds visionary, to say the least, and the implications
are colossal. It's also true, of course, that the demise of bank notes
and coinage and their replacement by cards of one sort or another has
been predicted before, yet we remain attached to pounds and pence,
dollars and cents. The difference now may be that the technological
impetus for the switch is at hand in the Internet.

If it happens, it's going to work like this: you, the consumer,
will have an account on the Internet in the new
e-currency. The account will be administered by an issuer;
for the purpose of this example, let's say you've decided to
use Microsoft microns (this is not meant to imply, by the way,
that Microsoft has any intention of launching such a
currency :^). These have been issued by a consortium of large
companies with, collectively, the assets to back the
new currency. There will be no "hard" version of the microns:
they will exist purely as entries on your personal

balance sheet on the Internet. If you happen to be paid in
microns, your employer would transfer your salary in
microns from his own micron account to yours electronically,
without the need to issue a cheque or go through a
bank. Your micron account would be available to pay for goods
on the Internet - plane tickets, books, CDs, clothes,
whatever - through secure transfers.

But there's more. Using a mobile phone and a smart card attachment,
you would be able to access your micron account and download micron
credits from your account to your card.

And what would a micron be worth? Well, it would be worth a
micron, because there wouldn't be any national
currencies to compare it with. If everything is denominated
in e-currencies, then government-issued currencies
become redundant.

Believe it or not, this concept is not new. Take your 'Air
Miles' cards for example, which uses 'loyalty points' by
supermarkets and petrol stations. It could ultimately replace
traditional currency for a range of small on-line
transactions.

Another Electronic currency pilot in Britain is called 'beenz'
These beenz points are awarded on promotional items or
discounts offered by an on-line shop which can then be "spent"
on other items. Savers can visit the Bank of Beenz to
check their balance, or use a small "beenz counter" which pops
up on their screen when they are on-line. They are
also sent regular bank statements.

One of the first Internet retailers to join the project is
the cut-price electronics supplier 21store, which plans to offer
discounts on products such as Psion organizers in exchange
for beenz earned through making earlier purchases.
However, the currency's inventors claim it is wrong to think
of beenz as mere loyalty points, since they are intended
to be transferable between a number of retailers.

Philip Letts, chief executive of the Beenz Company, said: "We
have re-engineered money in a way which gives
consumers and businesses a greater share in the riches of the
web. Ironically, the problem with real money is that it
costs too much. Beenz avoids all the security, exchange rate
and clearance issues of traditional money and creates a very
flexible trading platform for e-commerce."

What might seem the most startling prospect in this scenario
- the notion of a currency issued by private corporations
- is actually the least revolutionary part of the whole package. Of
course, Moines minted by states have existed for thousands of years,
but until the 18th century they were made of precious metals such as
gold or silver, and their values were inherent. They weren't currency
in the modern sense of the word; they were instead items of known
value within themselves, and could be used anywhere.

Private currency may have a greater tendency toward stability,
to postulate that private companies have more interest
in retaining the value of money than governments do. This means,
ultimately, that privately issued currencies will be internationally
accepted, transferable without bank charges, practically non-taxable
and sound.

Ultimately what this means my friends, is that the program(s)
is already in use. It's just a matter of slowly merging all
'pilot programs' into one system. Kind of like the way Microsoft
purchases everything in it's path!

Also in the News: E-Cash spells doom for central banks

Leading academics have welcomed comments made by a senior Bank
of England official that emerging Internet-based currencies
could drive central banks to extinction.

Speaking at a banking conference last Friday (August 27th)
in Wyoming, the Bank of England's deputy governor,
Mervyn King, admitted that emerging forms of currency used
in Web-based trade could fall beyond the control of the
world's central banks.

Losing control of the money flow will naturally mean the loss
of economic power and could wipe out central banks
altogether, according to King.

Alistair Kelman, visiting fellow at the London School of Economics
(LSE), said: "It's about time central banks realise the implications
of the digital economy."

He added: "I think the central banks will now start imposing
controls on their client banks so that ecash is rolled-out in
a secure manner. This will ensure we don't have companies inventing
money that people can allegedly trust on the Net which could subvert
the entire banking system."

Ian Angell, professor of information systems at LSE, said King's
comments are a refreshing change from the traditional lack of forward
thinking exhibited by "mealy mouthed" Bank of England officials.

Angell claims King's prediction that central banks could become
redundant will come true. "The European Union and
national governments have completely lost the plot, wasting
time deliberating over the single currency when it's
electronic cash that is the real issue. What King is talking
about is the inability of the state to control its own
destiny," he said.

Also in the News: Gates Says 'Join The Net Or Die;

Anybody who does not do business on the internet will face
ruin within five years, according to the three most
powerful men in the computer industry.

It is a message that will be regarded with some scepticism
in the light of yesterday's revelation that 50 million
accounts on Hotmail, the world's most popular e-mail website,
could be read by anyone who knew where to look.

However, at a conference, Bill Gates, head of Microsoft, Craig
Barrett, chief executive of Intel, and Michael Dell,
head of the largest PC maker, told the computer industry that
having taught the world to communicate via e-mail they
now want us to shop via e-commerce.

Despite the growth of e-commerce fraud, Mr Gates, Mr Barrett
and Mr Dell want to convince the world that the
future of shopping and trade is electronic.

At a meeting of 1,200 computer industry executives at Austin
in Texas, they said that companies who do not move
their business on to the internet will be left behind. They
say consumers who do not shop on the internet will pay
much more. Mr Barrett said: "In five years all companies will
be internet companies. Those that aren't will cease to
exist."

"The internet is like a weapon sitting on a table waiting to
be picked up by you or your competitors," said Mr Dell,
whose company sells almost half of its products directly over
the internet. Dell's e-commerce business has exploded
since Jan 1997 when it sold just $1 million (.625,000) worth
of computers a month over the internet. By June this
year it had reached $50 million per month.

The message, said Mr Dell, is that all companies, whatever
their size, trade equally on the internet, reaching any
customer with internet access anywhere in the world. Mr Gates
also sounded the death knell of paper at the
conference. Within a few years, newspapers, magazines, books
and correspondence will no longer be read on
newsprint but on electronic screens that are just as portable
as paper, he said.

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - Burmese Buddhists Deem Christian Radio A Threat
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 02 Oct 1999 12:46:23 -0500

From: research-bpr@philologos.org (Moza)

         Burmese Buddhists Deem Christian Radio A Threat

         MANILA, Philippines (EP) -- Radical Buddhist leaders in
         Myanmar, also known as Burma, have declared Christian radio
         broadcasting a threat to Buddhism. Far East Broadcasting, an
         international Christian radio ministry, broadcasts Burmese
         programs from Manila, Philippines. These broadcasts have been
         deemed a threat to Buddhists by a committee chaired by U Nu,
         former prime minister of Myanmar.

         A predominantly Buddhist nation, Myanmar has a small
         Christian population of approximately three percent. Several
         people groups in Myanmar, including the Shan and Karen, have
         sizable Christian populations that are increasing daily. Far
         East Broadcasting provides programs to Myanmar in 21
         languages, including Shan, Burmese and Karen languages, via
         short wave from Manila, Philippines. These ethnic minorities
         are at continual odds with the central government. Christians
         are often blamed for the unrest and frequently attacked by
         government troops.

         According to Far East Broadcasting's director of Burmese
         broadcasts, radical Buddhists have been trying to stop
         Christian broadcast programs for years now. "There was an
         attempt to oppose, restrict and even stop Far East
         Broadcasting programs by a radical group from the Buddhist
         council," he stated. "But there was no action taken against
         the council and presently there are groups of extreme
         Buddhists who are very unhappy with the effectiveness of our
         gospel broadcast because it is leading many people to
         Christ."

         Some of Myanmar's top Buddhist leaders distributed a
         propaganda document listing systematic methods to eliminate
         Christianity. The document includes one method that proposes
         "to stop the Burmese public from listening to the Christian
         broadcasting program coming from Manila." Far East
         Broadcasting is the only Christian station in Manila
         broadcasting to Myanmar.

         The anti-Christianity propaganda document was issued by the
         Institution of the Buddhist Clergy in Rangoon. It presents 17
         points, with an emphasis on refuting certain Christian
         doctrine, such as the death of Jesus Christ: "The Christians
         preaching that Jesus Christ has died on the cross to redeem
         the sinners of the world with his holy blood, is totally
         false preaching. The real truth is that Jesus Christ was
         defeated in his mission works and had paid for his own
         wrong-doings by getting executed and shedding his own blood."
         

         Far East staff believe the document is no threat to the
         Christian community. "Among all the letters that I have
         received, only two expressed anger and distaste -- and not
         because of the gospel," a staff member reported. Despite the
         opposition from Buddhist clergy, Far East Broadcasting
         receives hundreds of positive letters every month from
         Burmese listeners, the majority from Buddhists expressing a
         deep interest in Christianity. Some inquiries come from
         Buddhist monks.

         Despite government attempts to purge the Christian faith from
         Myanmar the impact of gospel programs has made a breakthrough
         in reaching a spiritually-hungry people. In fact, other
         Christian ministries have verified the impact of Christian
         radio among the Burmese people and the government, and can
         attest to Christian radio's influence. During an interview on
         Far East Broadcasting's U.S. program, Inside Asia Today,
         special guest Jim Jacobson, president of Christian Freedom
         International, stated, "I know first-hand the effectiveness
         of your programs in reaching out to many of these remote
         area...but it literally drives the government of Burma crazy;
         they wish they could stop it."

         Far East Broadcasting's Burmese director encourages people to
         continue praying for Christians in Myanmar, particularly
         where local leaders want to turn entire villages into
         Buddhist communities. He shares that a recent report from one
         of Far East Broadcasting's Burmese broadcasters proves that
         prayer makes a difference. "One of our programmers returned
         from the field yesterday and told me that in one area, where
         there are very few Christians, entire towns listen to Far
         East Broadcasting and many are changing even though they
         haven't yet converted," he said.

         (c 1999, Evangelical Press News Service)

http://www.mcjonline.com/news/news3468.htm

========
To: bpr-list@philologos.org (BPR Mailing List)
Subject: [BPR] - TV: Top 10 Religion Stories Of The Millennium
From: bpr-list@philologos.org(BPR)
Date: Sat, 02 Oct 1999 12:46:52 -0500

From: research-bpr@philologos.org (Moza)

         TV: Top 10 Religion Stories Of The Millennium

         NEW YORK, N.Y. (EP) -- Giving in to what it calls "millennial
         fever," a U.S. public television series has compiled a list
         of the top 10 religion stories of the millennium.

         Among the choices made by "Religion and Ethics Newsweekly"
         are the split of Christianity into eastern and western
         branches; the Crusades; and Martin Luther's 95 theses, a key
         event in the Protestant Reformation.

         The 19th-century enlightenment drive against religious ideas
         led by Sigmund Freud, Charles Darwin and Karl Marx also
         appears on the list. Only one 20th century event, the
         Holocaust, was selected.

         Here's the list, presented in chronological order:

         1. The Great Schism, the 1054 split of Christianity into
         Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic branches.

         2. The Crusades. These began in 1095, when Eastern Orthodox
         leaders asked the Pope for help fighting Muslim forces that
         had invaded the Holy Land. Muslims drove the Crusaders out by
         the end of the 13th century.

         3. The Spread of Islam. The Moslem faith reached most of
         India by the 13th century, and consolidated the Middle East
         and parts of Europe, culminating in the capture of
         Constantinople in 1453 by the Islamic Empire of the Ottomans.
         

         4. The Gutenberg Bible. Johannes Gutenberg invented the
         printing press and published the Bible in 1455, resulting in
         mass distribution of religious teachings and ideas.

         5. Church support of art, music and intellectual life.
         Examples include the Vatican's commissioning of Michelangelo
         to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and religious
         patronage of universities such as Oxford and Cambridge.

         6. Martin Luther's 95 Theses. The posting of the 95 Theses in
         1517, in which Luther accused Catholic leaders of corruption
         and false doctrine, fueled the Protestant Reformation.

         7. Missionary movements. In the 16th century early European
         explorers took predominantly Catholic missionaries around the
         world. By the 18th and 19th centuries, a second wave of
         missionary movements was being led by Protestants.

         8. Religious Liberty. English puritans traveled to seek
         religious freedom in the New World, founding the United
         States on the idea that government should not prohibit the
         free exercise of religious belief.

         9. Challenges to religious ideas in the 19th century,
         including Charles Darwin's theory of the evolution of the
         species; psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud's suggestion that
         religion is an illusion; and Karl Marx's materialistic world
         view which inspired communist revolutions around the world.

         10. The Holocaust. Centuries of anti-Semitic persecution in
         Europe culminated in the Holocaust, when an estimated six
         million Jews were killed by the Nazis.

         The program's list was compiled by series staff members in
         consultation with scholars. Host Bob Abernethy noted that the
         list places a heavy emphasis on Christianity and Europe. "It
         was that kind of millennium," he said, but admitted that
         others might find the list "arbitrary or just plain wrong."

         (c 1999, Evangelical Press News Service)

http://www.mcjonline.com/news/news3466.htm