------------------------------------------------------
New Zealand: Death of Child Demonstrates Dangers of Health Fanaticism
Auckland, New Zealand .... [Bettina Krause/Brenton Stacey/ANN]
-------------------------------------------------------
A New Zealand couple, whose six-month-old son died last year due to
complications from vitamin B12 deficiency, was convicted last week of
manslaughter. Caleb Moorhead died in March 2001 of bronchopneumonia
associated with anemia and brain damage. Roby and Deborah Moorhead,
strict vegans, had refused to vary their son's diet and resisted
medical treatment for his vitamin deficiency. They told the court that
their actions were based on their religious beliefs and their
interpretation of the writings of Ellen White, a founder of the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.

This was an "avoidable tragedy," according to a leading Adventist
health professional in the South Pacific. "The church does not condone
extreme diets, the removal of children from medical care, or the
failure to seek advice from health professionals," says Bevan Hokin, a
vitamin B12 expert who is pathology director at Sydney Adventist
Hospital in Wahroonga, New South Wales. "We believe in health care."

"The choice of diet is a personal matter," says Melissa Harris,
assistant director for Adventist Health Ministries in the South
Pacific. "Adventists encourage rational and responsible decision-making
about what foods to eat. Diet alone is not a treatment for disease or
illness."

Dr. Allan Handysides, health ministries director of the Adventist world
church, calls the New Zealand case "a dreadful tragedy." Such a
distorted view of health practices comes about through a "manipulation
of the writings of Mrs. White," he says. Dr. Peter Landless, associate
health ministries director, agrees, saying that fanaticism has caused
some individuals to "wrench portions of Mrs. White's writings out of
context."

"The church, through its health ministries department, promotes a
well-balanced, lacto-ova vegetarian diet [the form of vegetarianism
that includes eggs and dairy products]," he says. "And even then, not
when this goes against medical advice in individual cases."

Landless says the vast majority of the church's 13 million members have
a clear understanding of the balanced, wholistic approach to health
advocated by the Adventist Church. But when misinterpretations occur,
they must be tackled head-on, he says.

An integral part of the department's worldwide education program is
alerting people to the need for sufficient vitamin B12. More than two
years ago, the General Conference Nutrition Council, made up of some 25
doctors, nutritionists and other health professionals from across the
United States, published a document warning about the dangers of B12
deficiency. The statement emphasizes the importance of the vitamin,
describes signs and consequences of deficiency, lists dietary sources,
and urges all vegetarians--but especially individuals who choose a
vegan diet--to ensure they get the daily recommended intake.

"Reports from around the world reveal that many long-term total
vegetarians [or vegans] are especially at risk of vitamin B12
deficiency," the document reads. "Unfortunately many [vegans] do not
realize the seriousness of B12 deficiency."

The Adventist Church has long been known for promoting an active,
healthy, tobacco-free and alcohol-free lifestyle. In July last year,
the results of a 12-year study of 34,000 Adventists in California were
released, showing that the lifestyle habits practiced by many
Adventists contribute to a significantly longer-than-average life
expectancy. Researchers called the group "the longest-lived population
that has ever been studied and described in a formal way."

The church also operates one of the largest privately owned health care
systems in the world, running hospitals and medical clinics in more
than 120 countries, and training thousands of health professionals each
year. The church's Loma Linda University and Medical Center, located in
Southern California, was established in 1905, and employs more than
9,000 staff, teaches some 3,400 students and fills 886 hospital beds.
It has become internationally renowned for its ongoing contributions to
medical research, and for its cutting-edge treatments in areas
including heart transplant surgery and non-invasive proton beam therapy
for prostate and breast cancer.

** Columbine Survivors Counsel German School Massacre Survivors **

A group of American Christians visited the East German city of Erfurt
June 6 to 9 to support those affected by a school massacre at Gutenberg
High School, reports the "idea" news agency. On April 26, ex-student
Robert Steinhaeuser shot 16 people in a killing spree, before taking his
own life. Three years earlier, in April 1999, a similar incident
happened at Columbine High School in Littleton (Colorado). Two students
shot 12 of their fellow-students, including Cassie Bernall, one teacher
and themselves.

The visitors from Littleton, among them Cassie Bernall¹s mother and two
students wounded in the Columbine incident, shared with their fellow
sufferers in Erfurt that it was their faith in Christ that helped them
cope with the traumatic experiences. The delegation is part of the
Torchgrab youth movement under the leadership of emergency chaplain
Bruce Porter, who is also a fire fighter and was involved in counseling
at Columbine and Ground Zero in New York.

According to idea news, showing compassion and respect to others is the
mission purpose of Torchgrab, which Porter started after the events in
Littleton. At two youth rallies in Erfurt on June 8 and 9, the group
paid tribute to Cassie Bernall and her strong Christian faith. According
to Porter there were several suicide attempts after the Columbine
massacre. Some youngsters had also turned to drugs and alcohol.
Similarly one Gutenberg student took his life June 9.

** Churches Told To Stop Preaching In Uzbek **

Barnabas Fund News Service (BFS) reports that a senior religious affairs
official in Uzbekistan has demanded that churches stop preaching in
Uzbek, the country's first language. In another incident, 18 Christians
were detained after an investigation into the sources of Christian
literature in Central Asian languages. These and other incidents have
led Christians to issue an open letter in which they state, "Actions
have recently been resumed in Uzbekistan which could soon lead to a
significant restriction on religious freedom in our country."

According to BFS, the chairman of the Bible Society of Uzbekistan is
quoted as saying that it was, "impossible to rule out the possibility
that the authorities are beginning a campaign against Protestant
communities in the republic." The situation of churches is particularly
difficult in the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan in the northwest
of Uzbekistan, where the authorities appear to be trying to halt the
spread of Christianity among the local people.

On 13 May, six policemen appeared at a meeting of the New Life Church in
Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan. They searched all 17 people
present, including two foreigners, and then took them to the city's
Administration of Internal Affairs. Four of the local Christians were
later fined for organizing an illegal meeting. A spokesman for the
Ministry of Internal Affairs in Karakalpakstan stated that the church
had not been registered and therefore had no right to hold religious
meetings. In the whole of Karakalpakstan only one Christian community
has been able to obtain registration.

TRANSLATORS SUPPORT NEW
GENDER-NEUTRAL BIBLE
The latest round has been fired in the war of words over the controversial new gender-neutral Bible translation, Today's New International Version (TNIV).

The Forum of Bible Agencies (FBA), whose members are responsible for 90 percent of all Bible translation work, has issued a statement saying that the TNIV falls within its "translation principles and procedures." FBA members include Wycliffe Bible Translators, the United Bible Society, The Bible League and the American Bible Society.

Scott Bolinder, executive vice president of TNIV publisher Zondervan, said: "The FBA is a definitive source on Bible translation. We hope their announcement will help correct misinformation about [the TNIV]."

Last month a broad coalition of 100 church and ministry leaders urged a boycott of the TNIV, claiming that it was "not sufficiently trustworthy to commend to the church" for preaching or personal study. Signatories included Pentecostals and conservative evangelicals, from Jack Hayford to Jerry Falwell.

Led by the Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, the TNIV critics say that important biblical meaning has been watered down or lost in some places where masculine references have been replaced by neutral ones. But Craig Blomberg, professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary, Colo., said that the group "does not reflect a majority of evangelical, New Testament scholars."

BAPTISTS DEFEND LEADER'S
'ANTI-MUSLIM' SERMON
Top Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) leaders yesterday rejected calls to repudiate what a Muslim group called "bigoted" and "hate-filled" statements made by a former president of the denomination. In a sermon Monday night preceding the SBC's annual meeting in St. Louis, Jerry Vines, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., called the prophet Mohammed, founder of Islam, "a demon-possessed pedophile," "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution" reported.

Vines, president of the convention from 1989 to 1991, also said that that many of America's problems can be blamed on religious pluralism. The SBC's president-elect, Jack Graham, refused to condemn Vines, saying his statements were "accurate." "Anyone...who wants to go to heaven should look carefully at who they're following and what they believe," said Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The SBC gathering was also marred by other controversy. Current SBC president James Merritt condemned homosexuality from the podium yesterday as gay-rights protesters shouting slogans marched through the convention hall and into the arms of police. Twelve protesters were arrested inside the hall, and 38 more were taken into custody outside, where riot police stood nearby, the AP reported. The protesters were charged with ethnic intimidation and trespassing.