Secularists attack day of Bible readings
The BBC will devote nearly a whole day of Radio 4 to readings from the King James Bible to mark the 400th anniversary of its publication. (See Prayer Alert 5010) While the move has been welcomed by the Church, it has prompted secularists to complain to the BBC at what they believe is ‘excessive’ coverage. The 28 Bible passages, each 15-minutes long, will be introduced by the Archbishop Rowan Williams, Simon Schama and Will Self, and recorded by actors including Samuel West, Emilia Fox and Hugh Bonneville. The Rt Rev Graham James, Bishop of Norwich, said the BBC's coverage was an encouraging sign that it recognised the significance of the King James Bible. ‘The BBC is not being kind to Christians, but recognising the place of the Bible in the nation. It has had an impact on our culture, our history and our language and it has helped to create our sense of who we are as a people.’
Pray: that this event will go ahead and will be heard by as wide an audience as possible. (1Ti.4:13)
Concern over NHS-backed sex text messaging
Children are receiving text messages with advice on sex from a taxpayer-funded service, in a scheme which has been accused of sidelining parents and undermining the age of consent. The free service is aimed at 13 to 25-year-olds, according to a national newspaper, and works by replying to messages young people send in. Norman Wells, Director of Family Education Trust, said: ‘Not only does it undermine parents by presenting itself as an authoritative source of advice on sex, relationships and sexual health, but it also fails to respect the age of consent by offering a service to children under 16.’ Mr Wells added: ‘the information provided is not even accurate. The website fails to tell visitors that condoms provide
much less protection against sexually transmitted infections than they do against pregnancy, and says nothing about the health benefits of keeping sex within a lifelong, mutually faithful relationship with an uninfected partner’.
Pray: for a more tightly regulated and sensitive service providing better quality care and advice. (Ps.103:18)
More: http://www.christian.org.uk/news/concern-over-nhs-backed-sex-text-message-service/
Charity warns of rising homelessness
The UK housing charity Shelter has today (14 December 2010) warned of a rise in homelessness as new research reveals the number of households in rent or mortgage arrears has more than doubled in the past year. Worryingly, households with children are most at risk (five per cent). Shelter estimates that more than 480,000 children are currently living in families that are falling behind with their basic housing costs. With recent government figures showing the first sustained increase in homelessness since 2003, Shelter is warning that homelessness could be set to soar in 2011 as Government cuts to housing benefit and support for homeowners, along with predicted job losses and increases in living costs, push thousands of struggling households over the edge. Shelter’s Chief Executive Campbell Robb said: 'We urge the Government to think again about the cumulative effects of its policies on people who are at real risk of losing their homes'.
Pray: that the Government will adopt policies that will prevent people from losing their homes. (Isa.32:18)
Unmarried parents and broken homes
Nearly half of the children born today will be living in broken homes by the age of 16. The sharp increase in unmarried couples having children is to blame for the rise in parental separation rates, a study from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) claimed. The report calls for a major shift in policy to reassert the ‘vital’ importance of marriage as a more stable form of commitment than cohabitation. It followed concerns from Iain Duncan Smith, the work and pensions secretary, that society pays a 'heavy price' for separation, in terms of the cost of crimes committed by children from broken homes, lost taxes and rising benefit bills. In 1980 there were one million single parents, but this has now doubled. Mr Duncan Smith, who founded the CSJ, has suggested that the true cost of family breakdown to the UK economy, including benefits, lost taxes and crime, was up to £100 billion a year.
Pray: that the nation reasserts the bedrock of family to be in Christian marriage. (Job 21:19)
