News In Briefs

Newsmedia Flogs A Dead Horse

FOR a few days, the nation's born-again Christians were overjoyed: could it be that Steve Irwin, crocodile hunter, had become one of them shortly before a stingray's barb cut short his life?
The rumour began to circulate after Creation Ministries International, a conservative group believing in a literal reading of the Book of Genesis, reported the contents of an email from a church pastor that Irwin had "come forward" at a Sunshine Coast church two weeks before his death.
The rumour spread like wildfire. The email read in part: "Many of us will now spend eternity with him. I am sure Terri [Irwin] is comforted as a Christian in the fact that she will be with Jesus and also Steve again for eternity."
But as encouraging as it might be for Christians to know they may share heaven with Irwin, the group now concedes there is reason to doubt the conversion. The unverified story was sent out by an exuberant staff member, said the group's managing director, Carl Wieland. "Though we are able to substantiate our suggestion that Steve's wife, Terri, was a church-going Christian, the stories of Steve coming forward can, at this stage, not be substantiated," he said in a statement on the group's website.
"There is serious reason to doubt that this happened, at least not in the way that the stories claim. Each time, seemingly reliable witnesses are invoked, but they are never the actual eyewitnesses … At least one major church [believed to be a Pentecostal church in Adelaide] … announced it joyfully from the pulpit. But there again it turned out to be on the basis of seemingly reliable, almost impeccable eyewitness testimony, but testimony which could, again, not be confirmed, sadly."
A Sunshine Coast pastor, Steve Penny, said that if Irwin converted it was not at his church. Further investigation had failed to substantiate rumours of the conversion in any church on the coast, he said.
Mr Wieland said the rumour had been consigned to "well-meant urban legend". "It is, ultimately, a matter between Steve Irwin and his creator and if the event did occur, then since Terri Irwin is a believer, she will be highly motivated to let the world know."

-smh.com.au

posted by Steve @ Friday, September 22, 2006