Bits from the world of Religion

Dateline TEXAS -- I must have missed this in Bible class.

According to a CNN.com report this morning, several people in a small rural area of Texas near Stephenville were unsettled because they reportedly saw an alien 'flying saucer.' One of the witnesses of this 'out-of-this-world' craft is a freight company owner and pilot. This man is quoted as saying, "People wonder what in the world it is because this is the Bible Belt, and everyone is afraid it's the end of times."

So, an UFO sighting leads people to speculate that the 'end of the world as we know it,' hereafter EOTWAWKI, is at hand. Now, I have actually read the Bible, even those apocalyptic passages that many interpret as relating to EOTWAWKI. Those passages mention a lot of things - wars, famine, disease, earthquakes and signs relating to the sun, moon, and stars - but no where are alien spacecraft mentioned.

I have even read the books of those folks who have TV shows and make a lot of money, as they tweak their prophetic interpretations to catch up with curent geo-political realities. They talk about economic issues and apostasy and the nation of Israel and Gog and Magog, but no where do they add flying saucers.

It seems that people in Stephenville Texas may consider themselves to be part of the Bible Belt, but I would have hoped they would actually know a bit more of the text than it seems they do.

Dateline KABUL - This is in a country that the US considers 'one of the good guys.'

A Reuters report from Saturday, January 5 (sorry it has taken me a while to include this), as carried in the Washington Post, indicates that the Afghanistan Islamic Council, made up of leading Muslim clerics from across the country, told President Karzai to stop foreign aid groups from converting people to Christianity and to reinstate public executions.

"The council is concerned about the activities of some ... missionary and atheistic organs and considers such acts against Islamic sharia (law), the constitution, and political stability," said a copy of the statement obtained by Reuters. "If not prevented, God forbid, catastrophe will emerge, which will not only destabilize the country, but the region and the world."

This is taking place as the world remembers the 23 South Korean Christian missionaries (see Top Ten Religious News Stories for 2007 below) who were kidnapped by the Taliban last year. Two of the Koreans were executed, and the rest were released only after prolonged and secretive negotiations.

The Afghani Islamic Council has no real role in governance. Many of the ulema (clerics) have, however, been implicated in revolts against past governments. Karzai referred the demands to various governmental departments for study, but he did not advocate any change. A member of the Council, who is also a member of Parliament, cautioned that, if Karzai does not listen to the Council, the people will further distance themselves from the government, leading to more unrest and instability.

And, remember, this is from 'one of the good countries' in the region.