News

NEWS

Evangelical Alliance claims ‘marriage’ is being hijacked

Following the second reading of the Civil Partnership Bill in the House of Lords, the Evangelical Alliance, continues to reject suggestions that there can be moral or legal equivalence between marriage and same-sex partnerships.

The Evangelical Alliance opposes the Government's approach to legislating for same-sex relationships.

Don Horrocks for the Evangelical Alliance commented: "The word 'marriage' is effectively being hijacked, even though the Government claims these proposals do not amount to same-sex 'marriage'. However, this will clearly be the result, as the Bill will appropriate virtually the same rights as married couples. The very text of the Bill itself largely mimics matrimonial law."

He continued: "Most Christians would accept that there are legitimate issues of basic human justice to be considered for same-sex couples. However, marriage is unequivocally a unique institution involving the life-long, exclusive union of one man and one woman. Christians highlight the importance of the creation of human beings as male or female in the image of God and emphasise the complementarity of husband and wife.

"We continue to believe it would have been preferable to deal with any perceived human rights injustices by amending existing law, rather than introducing a nation-wide ideologically conceived Bill. We think marriage will certainly be further undermined by this Bill."

The Bill, which has now gone to Grand Committee for detailed scrutiny is expected to proceed through both Houses of Parliament for at least the remainder of the parliamentary session.

Scooby Doo 2 – drugs warning from Christian charity

A UK Christian anti-addiction charity says even a popular children’s film contains drug references.

UK adults watching Scooby-Doo 2 may be completely unaware of a controversy about volatile substance use, warns Hope UK. In the United States, inhaling nitrous oxide (laughing gas) is a problem for young people’s health. In the film, one of the heroes clearly appears to inhale from a squirty cream can with a corresponding ‘high’ effect.

Reports from the US describe the leafleting of cinemas there to warn parents and children against copycat action. Hope UK’s ChildWise Co-ordinator, Ruth White, has seen the film, and for her it "highlights the need for parents to know what is going on".

Hope UK will be asking the British Board of Film Classification to request that this scene is removed prior to release on DVD and video. Although some may see this as no worse than the comedy drunk, Hope UK is calling on churches and children’s organisations to become better informed.

Volatile substances are an important part of the drug scene as far as harm to children and early teens are concerned – they cause the highest incidence of ‘death at first use’. Film-makers need to be aware
of the messages sent out to this impressionable age group, says the charity.

INFO

Nitrous oxide is a clear colourless oxidising liquefied gas with a slightly sweet odour. The product is stable and inert at room temperature. It is used legitimately mainly in medicine and dentistry as an anaesthetic, and as a food processing propellant.

It is dangerous because nitrous oxide readily displaces air, causing asphyxiation in closed environments. As the concentration approaches 100%, the user achieves a brief sense of euphoria or high. This feeling is associated with slurred speech, unbalanced walking, blunted thinking and response to stimuli, and ultimately loss of consciousness.

Useful websites:

The Compressed Gas Association – www.cganet.com/N20/issues.asp
National Inhalant Prevention Coalition – www.inhalants.org
Re-solv (Volatile Substance Misuse) - www.re-solv.org
Hope UK - Tel: 020 7928 0848 Fax: 020 7401 3477 www.hopeuk.org

Text flirting as serious as an affair, say couples

Sending flirtatious emails or phone texts behind a partner's back is just as damaging as a "real life'' affair, according to new researchreports the Independent. A cyber-relationship is viewed as a serious infidelity by both men and women, the annual British Psychological Society conference in London was told this week.

Psychologists found that the discovery that a partner is emailing or texting someone - regardless of whether the pair actually meet - can damage relationships and cause break-ups. Dr Monica Whitty, from Queen's University in Belfast, studied a group of 245 people and their attitudes towards cyber-infidelity.

She gave them a scenario in which a couple had been married for 10 years and one of them had begun to email a person of the opposite sex they had met through an internet chat room. Even without knowing whether the couple had met in real life or had sent sexually explicit emails, more than half of the group immediately viewed the emailer as being unfaithful and 84 per cent thought the partner would feel betrayed.

(UK Marriage News, www.2-in-2-1.co.uk)

© Christian Family Network
is run by CPO, supported by
Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting,
Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.


		NEWS Evangelical Alliance claims ‘marriage’ is being hijacked Following the second reading of the Civil Partnership Bill in the House of Lords, the Evangelical Alliance, continues to reject suggestions that there can be moral or legal equivalence between marriage and same-sex partnerships. The Evangelical Alliance opposes the Government's approach to legislating for same-sex relationships. Don Horrocks for the Evangelical Alliance commented: "The word 'marriage' is effectively being hijacked, even though the Government claims these proposals do not amount to same-sex 'marriage'. However, this will clearly be the result, as the Bill will appropriate virtually the same rights as married couples. The very text of the Bill itself largely mimics matrimonial law." He continued: "Most Christians would accept that there are legitimate issues of basic human justice to be considered for same-sex couples. However, marriage is unequivocally a unique institution involving the life-long, exclusive union of one man and one woman. Christians highlight the importance of the creation of human beings as male or female in the image of God and emphasise the complementarity of husband and wife. "We continue to believe it would have been preferable to deal with any perceived human rights injustices by amending existing law, rather than introducing a nation-wide ideologically conceived Bill. We think marriage will certainly be further undermined by this Bill." The Bill, which has now gone to Grand Committee for detailed scrutiny is expected to proceed through both Houses of Parliament for at least the remainder of the parliamentary session. Scooby Doo 2 – drugs warning from Christian charity A UK Christian anti-addiction charity says even a popular children’s film contains drug references. UK adults watching Scooby-Doo 2 may be completely unaware of a controversy about volatile substance use, warns Hope UK. In the United States, inhaling nitrous oxide (laughing gas) is a problem for young people’s health. In the film, one of the heroes clearly appears to inhale from a squirty cream can with a corresponding ‘high’ effect. Reports from the US describe the leafleting of cinemas there to warn parents and children against copycat action. Hope UK’s ChildWise Co-ordinator, Ruth White, has seen the film, and for her it "highlights the need for parents to know what is going on". Hope UK will be asking the British Board of Film Classification to request that this scene is removed prior to release on DVD and video. Although some may see this as no worse than the comedy drunk, Hope UK is calling on churches and children’s organisations to become better informed. Volatile substances are an important part of the drug scene as far as harm to children and early teens are concerned – they cause the highest incidence of ‘death at first use’. Film-makers need to be aware of the messages sent out to this impressionable age group, says the charity. INFO Nitrous oxide is a clear colourless oxidising liquefied gas with a slightly sweet odour. The product is stable and inert at room temperature. It is used legitimately mainly in medicine and dentistry as an anaesthetic, and as a food processing propellant. It is dangerous because nitrous oxide readily displaces air, causing asphyxiation in closed environments. As the concentration approaches 100%, the user achieves a brief sense of euphoria or high. This feeling is associated with slurred speech, unbalanced walking, blunted thinking and response to stimuli, and ultimately loss of consciousness. Useful websites: The Compressed Gas Association – www.cganet.com/N20/issues.asp National Inhalant Prevention Coalition – www.inhalants.org Re-solv (Volatile Substance Misuse) - www.re-solv.org Hope UK - Tel: 020 7928 0848 Fax: 020 7401 3477 www.hopeuk.org Text flirting as serious as an affair, say couples Sending flirtatious emails or phone texts behind a partner's back is just as damaging as a "real life'' affair, according to new researchreports the Independent. A cyber-relationship is viewed as a serious infidelity by both men and women, the annual British Psychological Society conference in London was told this week. Psychologists found that the discovery that a partner is emailing or texting someone - regardless of whether the pair actually meet - can damage relationships and cause break-ups. Dr Monica Whitty, from Queen's University in Belfast, studied a group of 245 people and their attitudes towards cyber-infidelity. She gave them a scenario in which a couple had been married for 10 years and one of them had begun to email a person of the opposite sex they had met through an internet chat room. Even without knowing whether the couple had met in real life or had sent sexually explicit emails, more than half of the group immediately viewed the emailer as being unfaithful and 84 per cent thought the partner would feel betrayed. (UK Marriage News, www.2-in-2-1.co.uk) © Christian Family Network is run by CPO, supported by Care for the Family, Marriage Resource, Positive Parenting, Care, Women Alive, Christian Herald and many others.