In this Issue:

Commentary: Don’t Be Gen ZZZZZZZZ by Tim Salladay
In the H4PJ Online Action Center
Evangelical Angers Peers With Call for Action on Global Warming
Israel, Iran, U.S. Least Liked Countries

Commentary: Don’t Be Gen ZZZZZZZZ by Tim Salladay
A Call to Student Power for Peace and Justice
Tim Salladay is the newest H4PJ Staff Member and will focus on college outreach

Let’s face it. The USA is a rich, obese, self-absorbed, consumption monolith. Sure we “give” more than other countries to foreign relief (mostly out of guilt and ulterior motives), but the amount is not relative to our waste.

That being said, we are also a nation of innovators, deep spirituality, conscience and generosity. That dimension of us has been overshadowed by a fearfulness and laziness that has redefined us globally. When it comes to peace and justice:

IT’S TIME TO WAKE UP.
IT’S TIME TO GET UP.
IT’S TIME TO STEP UP.

WAKE UP!

Who will lead the charge? The answer is easy. The sleeping giant will lead. Lethargy, apathy and comfort have, until now, defined the giant. The giant actually is representative of a large segment of potential world-changers. Collectively, they are the ones who have always led us toward wholeness, fairness, freedom and kindness. They are college students, and they are currently waking up to their influence and power.

All major spiritual renewal and social “correction” have come by the impetus of younger people, usually students. On virtually every continent, major awakenings have been spawned by zealous university students, unfettered by doubt, cynicism and apathy.

Dr. Clarence Shedd, Professor of Christian Methods at the Divinity School of Yale University, in his definitive work Two Centuries of Student Christian Movements, makes the following statement:

In all ages the great creative religious ideas have been the achievement of the intellectual and spiritual insight of the young … In literature, the arts, the sciences, many of the most revolutionary ideas have been worked out by youth between 18 and 25 … Since Jesus' time numberless bands of Christian youth have turned the world upside down and thus led mankind forward in its struggle for freedom, and deeper religious experience. The universities have always been breeding places for such groups.

(It is interesting to note that this was written in 1943 and not in 1970, as might be assumed.)

GET UP!

We have seen it before in this country. We have examples in contemporary times to remind us of student capability. The “authenticity” movement (June Cleaver never was real.), the “hippie” movement (personal freedom), the peace movement, and the Jesus movement of the 1960s may still resonate with many of us “old folks.”

Click here to continue reading.

When you support H4PJ, your donations help to fund this program that hopes to raise a generation who believe in peace and promote justice. Take a moment to support H4PJ today! Click here to make a contribution.

Evangelical Angers Peers With Call for Action on Global Warming
By Alan Cooperman
Originally Published by the Washington Post

Focus on the Family founder James C. Dobson and other conservative Christian leaders are calling for the National Association of Evangelicals to silence or fire an official who has urged evangelicals to take global warming seriously.

In a letter this week to the board of the NAE, which claims 30 million members, Dobson and his two dozen co-signers said the Rev. Richard Cizik, the NAE's vice president for government relations, has waged a "relentless campaign" that is "dividing and demoralizing" evangelicals.

Cizik has been a leader in efforts to broaden evangelicals' political agenda beyond abortion and same-sex marriage. He says Christians have a biblical imperative to protect the environment, which he calls "creation care."

"I speak with a voice that is authentically evangelical on all the issues, from religious freedom around the world, to compassion for the poor, ending oppression in Darfur -- and yes, creation care is one of those issues," Cizik said yesterday.

The NAE's board is scheduled to meet next week in Minnesota. Its former president, the Rev. Ted Haggard, resigned in November after a scandal involving sex and drugs.

His successor, the Rev. Leith Anderson, defended Cizik as "a great asset." He also said that the Dobson letter was released to the news media before it was received by the board. "I guess that says it all," he said.

<--back to top-->

Israel, Iran, U.S. Least Liked Countries
by Jim Lobe
Originally Published by the Inter Press Service

WASHINGTON - A majority of people from around the world hold predominantly negative views of Israel, Iran, and the United States, according to a survey of more than 28,000 respondents in 27 countries.

The survey, which was sponsored by the BBC World Service and designed by Globescan and the Washington-based Program for International Policy Attitudes (PIPA), found that 56 percent and 54 percent of all respondents said they had mainly negative views of Israel and Iran, respectively.

It appears that people around the world tend to look negatively on countries whose profile is marked by the use or pursuit of military power.

PIPA director Steven Kull

Fifty-one percent and 48 percent said the same about the United States and North Korea, respectively.

At the other end of the spectrum, 54 percent said they felt "mainly positive" about both Canada and Japan, while the European Union and France, with a 53 percent and 50 percent "positive" rating, were the next highest among the 12 countries rated in the survey.

"It appears that people around the world tend to look negatively on countries whose profile is marked by the use or pursuit of military power," said PIPA director Steven Kull.

"This includes Israel and the U.S., who have recently used military force, and North Korea and Iran, who are perceived as trying to develop nuclear weapons," he said, adding, "Countries that relate to the world primarily through soft power, like Japan, France, and the EU in general, tend to be viewed more positively."

Respondents in the multi-nation survey, some findings of which have been previously released, included randomly selected samples of between 800 and 1200 people in the three nations of North America -- the U.S., Canada, and Mexico; three South American countries -- Chile, Argentina, and Brazil; six Asian countries -- India, the Philippines, South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, and China; and two African countries -- Nigeria and Kenya.

Click here to continue reading.

<--back to top-->