NECF upset with National Service

Evangelical Christians are upset with doctrinal errors in the National Service. This was highlighted by the National Evangelical Christian Fellowship of Malaysia (NECF) in its current newsletter to members.
NECF said it has notified the Christian Federation of Malaysia –the umbrella body - about this matter which will be brought to the attention of the relevant authorities.
“Christians, especially Christian parents whose children are attending the National Service programme, need to be aware of the grave doctrinal errors on Christianity contained in the workbook used by the NS integration programme on religion, “ the NECF pointed out in an article entitled ‘NS doctrinal errors.’
It said the workbook is entitled “Buku Kerja Program Integrasi’ on ‘Keagamaan’, 4th edition, 2009 with the chapters on Christianity on pages 12 and 13 contain the following errors:
- On page 12, under the heading “Agama Kristian”, bullet 2 states: “Pengikut Christ menganggap beliau sebagai penyelamat yang diutus untuk membela Bani Israel daripada penindasan bangsa-bangsa lain seperti bangsa Rom yang pernah memerintah Palestin.”
(Translated: Christ’s followers regard him as the saviour sent to deliver the Israeli race from the oppression by other races, such as the Romans, who once occupied Palestine.)
This is erroneous as Christians do not regard Christ as the saviour for Israel’s political and territorial oppression. Instead, the Bible clearly states He came to deliver the human race from the bondage of sin, the article said as no where in the Bible does it say that Christ came to deliver the Israelites from human oppression.

On page 13, bullet 6 states: “Jesus mengajar konsep tuhan yang esa, pengasih, penyayang, pemurah dan pengampun. Bagi orang yang mengamalkan ajaran ini, mereka akan menikmati kesempurnaan hidup di akhirat.”

(Translated: Jesus taught the concept of God as loving, merciful, forgiving and compassionate. For those who follow this teaching, they will enjoy eternal life in the hereafter.”)
Again NECF said this is erroneous as Christians have always maintained that salvation in the hereafter is not based on merely knowing God as a loving, merciful and compassionate God, but believing, confessing and accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
It also pointed out that Protestant Christians also do not subscribe to the description written under the heading “Agama Kristian”, bullet 3 which says that Christ “menghidupkan burung yang dibuat daripada tanah liat dan sebagainya.” (Translated: brought clay birds to life.)

strange lightning, looks like jellyfish

An eerie red figure flashed across the sky above a thunderstorm near the south coast of France, and then it was gone in the blink of an eye.
Atmospheric scientist Oscar van der Velde, standing on his balcony in Sant Vicenç de Castellet, in Barcelona, Spain, captured the sprite, as it is called, in spectacular detail on the night of June 5. He was more than 150 miles (250 km) away from the storm.
"It was the sixth sprite that night that I could capture, and the second one at this zoom level," said van der Velde, of the Technical University of Catalonia. "This type of sprite is often called a 'carrot.'"
Lasting just three milliseconds to 10 milliseconds, sprites are flashes of light that occur high above the tops of powerful thunderstorms and can travel up to 50 miles (80 km) high in the atmosphere, emitting deep red to near-infrared light.
"The exciting thing about this one is the level of detail revealed in the sprite by zooming in on the sky above storms," van der Velde told LiveScience. "You have to consider that I obtained the image from my own balcony within a small town with very basic equipment: a security camera fitted with a zoom lens, attached to a laptop with detection software."(He used UFOCapture, motion capture software that starts recording when luminous phenomena are detected.)
Their brevity and somewhat erratic nature have made sprites elusive study subjects.
In fact, scientists are still trying to figure out just what causes sprites, with some attributing the electrical bursts to lightning and others to meteoric dust, gravity waves or something else completely. The flashes also have been linked with UFO sightings.
"Sprites are very difficult to observe with the naked eye, because they last no longer than the blink of an eye," van der Velde said. "And the light of the lightning flash from the distant storm top underneath is usually catching the attention instead."
He added, "This is also the reason why sprites were discovered only in 1989, which is even later than the discovery of Pluto! Many people, including pilots, have seen these phenomena for decennia [decades], but without proof, scientists remained skeptical."
(In 1989, cameras onboard the STS-34 space shuttle mission recorded sprites as the spacecraft passed over a thunderstorm in northern Australia.)
By studying the structure of sprites, van der Velde said, scientists hope to learn more about lightning, such as cloud-to-ground flashes and so-called spider lightning, among other atmospheric topics.

About TV and sleep

Many generations ago, a dark night sky and fatigue probably signaled it was time to go to sleep.
Today, Conan O'Brien, Jon Stewart and the Desperate Housewives are more influential in determining bedtimes -- and it may be contributing to many Americans' chronic sleep deprivation, a new study says. In the study, researchers looked at data about the sleep habits and bedtime rituals of 21,475 participants aged 15 or older who completed the American Time Use Survey between 2003 and 2006.
In the two hours around bedtime, TV viewing was the most common activity, accounting for almost 50 percent of the activities undertaken in the time before bed, according to the study to be presented Monday at the Associated Professional Sleep Societies annual meeting, in Seattle.
The finding means that TV -- rather than hours past sunset or biological signs -- has become the most important signal for sleep.
And staying up to catch the end of a favorite show may make people stay up later than they otherwise would. In the morning, their alarm clocks may jar them awake earlier than they would naturally awaken.
These facets of modern life are potentially reducing sleep time below what is physiologically required, the researchers noted in a news release from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
"Given the relationship of short sleep duration to health risks, there is concern that many Americans are chronically under-sleeping due to lifestyle choices," study co-author David Dinges, of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in Philadelphia, said in the news release.
Americans should watch less late-night TV and go to work later in the morning, the researchers suggested.
"While the timing of work may not be flexible, giving up some TV viewing in the evening should be possible to promote adequate sleep," said study co-author Dr. Mathias Basner.
Getting less than seven to eight hours of sleep daily can lead to impaired alertness and has been linked to higher rates of obesity, illness and death. Even so, up to 40 percent of Americans are not getting the recommended amount of sleep at night, according to the news release.

A gun loving pastor

A Kentucky pastor is inviting his flock to bring guns to church to celebrate the Fourth of July and the Second Amendment.New Bethel Church is welcoming "responsible handgun owners" to wear their firearms inside the church June 27, a Saturday. An ad says there will be a handgun raffle, patriotic music and information on gun safety."We're just going to celebrate the upcoming theme of the birth of our nation," said pastor Ken Pagano. "And we're not ashamed to say that there was a strong belief in God and firearms — without that this country wouldn't be here."
The guns must be unloaded and private security will check visitors at the door, Pagano said.
He said recent church shootings, including the killing Sunday of a late-term abortion provider in Kansas, which he condemned, highlight the need to promote safe gun ownership. The New Bethel Church event was planned months before Dr. George Tiller was shot to death in a Wichita church.
Kentucky allows residents to openly carry guns in public with some restrictions. Gun owners carrying concealed weapons must have state-issued permits and can't take them to schools, jails or bars, among other exceptions.
Pagano's Protestant church, which attracts up to 150 people to Sunday services, is a member of the Assemblies of God. The former Marine and handgun instructor said he expected some backlash, but has heard only a "little bit" of criticism of the gun event.
John Phillips, an Arkansas pastor who was shot twice while leading a service at his former church in 1986, said a house of worship is no place for firearms. "A church is designated as a safe haven, it's a place of worship," said Phillips, who was shot by a church member's relative for an unknown reason and still has a bullet lodged in his spine. "It is unconscionable to me to think that a church would be a place that you would even want to bring a weapon."
Phillips spoke out against a bill before the Arkansas General Assembly that would have permitted the carrying of guns in that state's churches. The bill failed in February.
Pagano, 50, said some members of his church were concerned that President Obama's administration could restrict gun ownership, and they supported the plan for the event when Pagano asked their opinion.
Marian McClure Taylor, executive director of the Kentucky Council of Churches, an umbrella organization for 11 Christian denominations in Kentucky, said Christian churches are promoters of peace, but "most allow for arms to be taken up under certain conditions."
Taylor said Pagano assured her the event would focus on promoting responsible gun ownership and any proceeds would go to charity.
"Those two commitments are consistent with the high value the Assemblies of God churches place on human life," she said in an e-mail message.
Pagano is encouraging church members to bring a canned good and a friend to the event. He said guns must be unloaded for insurance purposes and safety reasons.
He said the point was not to mix worship with guns, though he may reference some passages from the Bible.
"Firearms can be evil and they can be useful," he said. "We're just trying to promote responsible gun ownership and gun safety."