What has happened this year politically? The 'Arab spring' has toppled a few dictators, but has it been a real victory for militant Islam? We have seen the deaths of Ghaddafi and Bin Laden, but were there really 'players' in any meaningfull sense? Financial markets have collapsed, but why? The polarization between the Senate and the House in America? The Chinese currency inequality> The folly of the European single currency? WE are watching the failure of democracy. People no longer vot for something, but against something. They no longer see solutions. Like the Occupy protestors that can only complain but all the proposed solutions have already failed.
We have seen riots in London, buthow does stealing two left-footed luxury trainers help matters? We have seen scandals in the press phone hacking. Neither the police nor politicians can be trusted. At least two journalists have been fired for high level plagiarism or misrepresentation. Global warming is suspected of being a sham. Scientific fraud is rife. Even in cricket the players cheat.
This has been a year when the Devil has taken control.
You know what my remedy is. This is how I became a Christian:
I was 30 years old. I had just been appointed as consultant hematologist in a beautiful seaside town. I had a wonderful wife and two lovely children. I was financially secure for the rest of my life. I was well on my way to making a name for myself as a research scientist. One day I was going to be famous in my field. I was moving into a circle of smart people with every material luxury. I could see that it would soon be mine.
And yet I was profoundly unhappy. Something was obviously missing in my life.
One day (these were the days when doctors did house calls) I visited a patient at home. As he opened the door to me, he greeted me with, “Hello, doctor, I’m a committed Christian, how about you?”
What an embarrassment. I muttered something about being sent to Sunday School as a child, but, in truth, I had given up on religion. I had taken home the message that if you went around doing good, or at least did your best, you would end up in heaven. I was honest enough to know that I couldn’t do good all the time, and indeed, much of the time I didn’t even do my best. Nevertheless, he sent me on my way with, “Why don’t you come to our church. You will find Francis Dixon a wonderful preacher.”
Six months went by and I did nothing. I was sinking into an ever deeper despair, particularly so as all the skills that I had relied on to answer examination questions were letting me down. I could get the diagnosis right and give the right treatment, but my leukemia patients still died.
Eventually my wife cajoled to me to going to my patient’s church. On the first Sunday I tried, I couldn’t find it so I returned home empty. I found it the second time, and looked around, expecting to see at least one friendly face. It was difficult because the church was absolutely packed with hardly a seat to be found, not the way I envisioned churches. The reason I couldn’t find him soon became apparent. He had died the previous Thursday. The sermon that Francis Dixon preached that day was clearly designed to console his widow.
His text was from John 11:25-26. It was the story of the raising of Lazarus. Remember the story, the sisters of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, had sent word to Jesus that their brother was dying. Rather than hurrying to Bethany, where they lived, Jesus stayed where he was across the River Jordan for two more days. Eventually he decided to go. When he arrived at Bethany Lazarus had died and had been in the grave for 4 days. Jesus had deliberately delayed because he was about to perform the miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead. When he arrived Martha scolded him, “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.”
Jesus replied, “I am the resurrection and the life, he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” (In those days they used the KJV)
Jesus then asked Martha, “Do you believe this?”
And Francis Dixon points straight at me and asks, “Do you believe this?”
Martha replied, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”
This was the pointed question I was asked. Did I believe that? Now was the time to stop pussyfooting around. This was the real question. Did I believe that Jesus was the Son of God, with power over Life and Death or was he just a prophet or a wise man or even just a good man? If I believed that he was the Christ I would live my life one way; if I believed he was not then I would live my life completely differently.
You cannot figure this out by logic or by examining the world or by any type of science. You have to make a decision, because in not making a decision that he is the Christ you are making a decision that he is not. People talk about a leap of faith. I never knew what that meant. But then I did. To believe that Jesus is the Christ means to live it and only by living it do you discover that it is true.
On that day, I trusted it was true and today I testify that it is true.
I later learned that my patient’s wife and two other women had been meeting every week to pray for the conversion of his doctor.
Showing posts with label religion politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label religion politics. Show all posts
Monday, November 21, 2011
Tuesday, August 02, 2011
Imagine trying to change Iran
To understand the Islamic world, try and get your head around this report from Open Doors:
A pastor in Iran found guilty of leaving Islam is awaiting the outcome of a judicial investigation into his spiritual background to see if he will be executed or forced to become a Muslim.
According to other Christian groups with ties in Iran, a court-ordered investigation will take place this autumn to determine whether Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, 34, was a Muslim as a teenager before he became a Christian at 19.
On 22 September 2010, a regional court sentenced Nadarkhani, who leads a 400-strong house church movement in Rasht, to death by hanging for 'converting to Christianity' and 'encouraging other Muslims to convert to Christianity'. His lawyer appealed the verdict, in part because Nadarkhani said he had never been a Muslim and so could not be found guilty of abandoning Islam.
The court issued a written response to the appeal on 12 June, upholding the death penalty but ordering the investigation. Even if the investigation releases him from the charge of apostasy, it is likely the charge of evangelising Muslims will still carry a lengthy prison sentence, sources said.
The charges against Nadarkhani stem from a complaint he made to local officials over a government decision to teach Islam to all children at school, regardless of their respective religions. He was called to appear before a tribunal on 12 October 2009 and arrested the same day. He has been held in government custody since then.
A group that works with Christians in Iran said officials have repeatedly used pressure tactics to force Nadarkhani to become a Muslim, including threatening to seize his children and arresting his wife on apostasy charges. On 18 June 2010, officials found Fatemah Pasindedih guilty of the charges, but her conviction was overturned on appeal, and she was released in October.
Last year the Iranian government started a series of crackdowns on evangelical Christians. According to a report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, the arrests started in June 2010, and by April 2011 more than 250 Christians had been 'arbitrarily arrested' throughout Iran.
A pastor in Iran found guilty of leaving Islam is awaiting the outcome of a judicial investigation into his spiritual background to see if he will be executed or forced to become a Muslim.
According to other Christian groups with ties in Iran, a court-ordered investigation will take place this autumn to determine whether Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani, 34, was a Muslim as a teenager before he became a Christian at 19.
On 22 September 2010, a regional court sentenced Nadarkhani, who leads a 400-strong house church movement in Rasht, to death by hanging for 'converting to Christianity' and 'encouraging other Muslims to convert to Christianity'. His lawyer appealed the verdict, in part because Nadarkhani said he had never been a Muslim and so could not be found guilty of abandoning Islam.
The court issued a written response to the appeal on 12 June, upholding the death penalty but ordering the investigation. Even if the investigation releases him from the charge of apostasy, it is likely the charge of evangelising Muslims will still carry a lengthy prison sentence, sources said.
The charges against Nadarkhani stem from a complaint he made to local officials over a government decision to teach Islam to all children at school, regardless of their respective religions. He was called to appear before a tribunal on 12 October 2009 and arrested the same day. He has been held in government custody since then.
A group that works with Christians in Iran said officials have repeatedly used pressure tactics to force Nadarkhani to become a Muslim, including threatening to seize his children and arresting his wife on apostasy charges. On 18 June 2010, officials found Fatemah Pasindedih guilty of the charges, but her conviction was overturned on appeal, and she was released in October.
Last year the Iranian government started a series of crackdowns on evangelical Christians. According to a report by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, the arrests started in June 2010, and by April 2011 more than 250 Christians had been 'arbitrarily arrested' throughout Iran.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
News from the Barnabas Trust
Muslims Against Crusades are targeting the London borough of Waltham Forest to be the first “sharia-controlled zone” as part of a new “Islamic Emirates Project”.
The group said,
As part of our Islamic Emirate Project, Waltham Forest is to be the first borough to be targeted for an intense sharia led campaign, introducing the prospect of Islamic law for the Muslim community to abide by.
Waltham Forest is...a borough with a marked Islamic fingerprint; Muslim businesses, mosques and Islamic schools emblazon its streets, making a transition into a thriving Islamic emirate, very real and plausible.
The organisation intends to persuade Muslims in Waltham to self-enforce sharia initially with specially designed leaflets and posters that read, “You are entering a Sharia Controlled Zone
Iran’s Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty for a church pastor convicted of apostasy last year – unless he recants his faith.
Pastor Nadarkhani (33) was arrested in his home city of Rasht, northern Iran, in October 2009 for objecting to the teaching of Islam to Christian children in schools. He was initially charged with protesting, but the charges against him were later changed to apostasy and evangelising Muslims. His wife, Fatemeh Passandideh, was also later arrested, in June 2010, and sentenced to life in prison. Supporters say that this was an attempt to pressurise Pastor Nadarkhani to renounce his faith, but he remained steadfast. Fatemeh was released on appeal in October after four months in prison.
Pastor Nadarkhani was found guilty of apostasy in September 2010; a written confirmation of the death sentence was received on 13 November. Apostasy – or renouncing Islam – is not a crime under Iran’s penal code, but the system does make provision for judges to draw on fatwas and Islamic sources where national law is silent. Islamic law states that an adult male apostate should be given the death sentence. The verdict was based on fatwas by key Iranian religious leaders including the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei. Pastor Nadarkhani, who was born to Muslim parents and is thus considered a Muslim in Islamic tradition, became a Christian aged 19.
The case was tried by the court in Rasht and has now been referred back there. The Supreme Court has asked the Rasht court to re-examine some procedural flaws in the case but has ultimately given local judges the power to decide Pastor Nadarkhani’s fate in October. The outcome seems likely to rest on whether or not he will recant his faith.
His lawyer, Mohammed Ali Dadkhah, a prominent defender of human rights in Iran, is involved in a legal battle of his own. He is appealing a nine-year prison sentence and ten-year ban on practising law or teaching at university for “actions and propaganda against the Islamic regime”.
The decision was strongly condemned by the US State Department, which said:
We are dismayed over reports that the Iranian courts are requiring Youcef Nadarkhani to recant his faith or face the death penalty for apostasy, a charge based on his religious beliefs. If carried out, it would be the first execution for apostasy in Iran since 1990.
There has been no protest by the British Government of any European authorities.
An Egyptian human rights organisation has exposed a highly organised Muslim ring that promotes sexual exploitation and blackmail to force Christian girls to convert to Islam
Egypt4Christ, which monitors the abduction and forced Islamisation of Christian minors, published the findings in a new report last week. It launched an undercover investigation after a church leader in Alexandria reported that a ten-year-old Christian girl had been sexually abused by a 20-year-old Muslim university student.
The group discovered that a highly organised Muslim ring based at a mosque in Alexandria are orchestrating a systematic campaign in which they urge young Muslim males in high school and university to approach Christian girls aged 9-15 and manipulate them through sexual exploitation and blackmail. Named “operation soaking lupin beans” (referring to small dried beans that are soaked until they grow in size before being eaten raw), the plan aims to compromise Christian girls sexually so that they feel defiled and humiliated, forcing them to flee their homes. Conversion to Islam is then used as a “solution” to their problems. The group published the names of those involved in the ring, which includes high-ranking officials and a Salafist leader who is reportedly considering running for president in the forthcoming Egyptian elections.
The problem of the forced conversion of Christian girls, who are then married to Muslim men, is a long-standing one in Egypt. But it has intensified since the January Revolution, with the number of Christian girls affected said to be soaring, amid wider efforts to Islamise the country. One church leader in Cairo estimates that at least 21 young girls have disappeared from his parish since the revolution, while another said that “more than two to three girls disappear everyday in Giza alone”. He added, “The cases that are brought to public attention are few compared to what the numbers actually are.”
Christian activist Mark Ebeid said that the problem has escalated since the revolution because of the emergence of Muslim Salafists, who follow an ultra-conservative, strict and puritanical version of Islam related to Wahhabism, the official state creed of Saudi Arabia. Mr Ebeid said they “believe strongly that converting a Christian Infidel is in some ways like earning a ticket to paradise – not to mention the earthly remuneration they get from the Saudis”.
Christians complain that the military council are not intervening in the problem and they do not get any assistance from the police.
The problem is not unique to Egypt; it is also common in Pakistan, and there have been consistent reports of its occurring in India and Sri Lanka. A Christian girl who has been forced to marry a Muslim man faces a virtually hopeless future, held captive by a family who treat her as nothing more than a slave. In Pakistan and Egypt, the woman’s name and identity is changed, with her Christian religious status being replaced with Islam on her identity card.
The group said,
As part of our Islamic Emirate Project, Waltham Forest is to be the first borough to be targeted for an intense sharia led campaign, introducing the prospect of Islamic law for the Muslim community to abide by.
Waltham Forest is...a borough with a marked Islamic fingerprint; Muslim businesses, mosques and Islamic schools emblazon its streets, making a transition into a thriving Islamic emirate, very real and plausible.
The organisation intends to persuade Muslims in Waltham to self-enforce sharia initially with specially designed leaflets and posters that read, “You are entering a Sharia Controlled Zone
Iran’s Supreme Court has upheld the death penalty for a church pastor convicted of apostasy last year – unless he recants his faith.
Pastor Nadarkhani (33) was arrested in his home city of Rasht, northern Iran, in October 2009 for objecting to the teaching of Islam to Christian children in schools. He was initially charged with protesting, but the charges against him were later changed to apostasy and evangelising Muslims. His wife, Fatemeh Passandideh, was also later arrested, in June 2010, and sentenced to life in prison. Supporters say that this was an attempt to pressurise Pastor Nadarkhani to renounce his faith, but he remained steadfast. Fatemeh was released on appeal in October after four months in prison.
Pastor Nadarkhani was found guilty of apostasy in September 2010; a written confirmation of the death sentence was received on 13 November. Apostasy – or renouncing Islam – is not a crime under Iran’s penal code, but the system does make provision for judges to draw on fatwas and Islamic sources where national law is silent. Islamic law states that an adult male apostate should be given the death sentence. The verdict was based on fatwas by key Iranian religious leaders including the Supreme Leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei. Pastor Nadarkhani, who was born to Muslim parents and is thus considered a Muslim in Islamic tradition, became a Christian aged 19.
The case was tried by the court in Rasht and has now been referred back there. The Supreme Court has asked the Rasht court to re-examine some procedural flaws in the case but has ultimately given local judges the power to decide Pastor Nadarkhani’s fate in October. The outcome seems likely to rest on whether or not he will recant his faith.
His lawyer, Mohammed Ali Dadkhah, a prominent defender of human rights in Iran, is involved in a legal battle of his own. He is appealing a nine-year prison sentence and ten-year ban on practising law or teaching at university for “actions and propaganda against the Islamic regime”.
The decision was strongly condemned by the US State Department, which said:
We are dismayed over reports that the Iranian courts are requiring Youcef Nadarkhani to recant his faith or face the death penalty for apostasy, a charge based on his religious beliefs. If carried out, it would be the first execution for apostasy in Iran since 1990.
There has been no protest by the British Government of any European authorities.
An Egyptian human rights organisation has exposed a highly organised Muslim ring that promotes sexual exploitation and blackmail to force Christian girls to convert to Islam
Egypt4Christ, which monitors the abduction and forced Islamisation of Christian minors, published the findings in a new report last week. It launched an undercover investigation after a church leader in Alexandria reported that a ten-year-old Christian girl had been sexually abused by a 20-year-old Muslim university student.
The group discovered that a highly organised Muslim ring based at a mosque in Alexandria are orchestrating a systematic campaign in which they urge young Muslim males in high school and university to approach Christian girls aged 9-15 and manipulate them through sexual exploitation and blackmail. Named “operation soaking lupin beans” (referring to small dried beans that are soaked until they grow in size before being eaten raw), the plan aims to compromise Christian girls sexually so that they feel defiled and humiliated, forcing them to flee their homes. Conversion to Islam is then used as a “solution” to their problems. The group published the names of those involved in the ring, which includes high-ranking officials and a Salafist leader who is reportedly considering running for president in the forthcoming Egyptian elections.
The problem of the forced conversion of Christian girls, who are then married to Muslim men, is a long-standing one in Egypt. But it has intensified since the January Revolution, with the number of Christian girls affected said to be soaring, amid wider efforts to Islamise the country. One church leader in Cairo estimates that at least 21 young girls have disappeared from his parish since the revolution, while another said that “more than two to three girls disappear everyday in Giza alone”. He added, “The cases that are brought to public attention are few compared to what the numbers actually are.”
Christian activist Mark Ebeid said that the problem has escalated since the revolution because of the emergence of Muslim Salafists, who follow an ultra-conservative, strict and puritanical version of Islam related to Wahhabism, the official state creed of Saudi Arabia. Mr Ebeid said they “believe strongly that converting a Christian Infidel is in some ways like earning a ticket to paradise – not to mention the earthly remuneration they get from the Saudis”.
Christians complain that the military council are not intervening in the problem and they do not get any assistance from the police.
The problem is not unique to Egypt; it is also common in Pakistan, and there have been consistent reports of its occurring in India and Sri Lanka. A Christian girl who has been forced to marry a Muslim man faces a virtually hopeless future, held captive by a family who treat her as nothing more than a slave. In Pakistan and Egypt, the woman’s name and identity is changed, with her Christian religious status being replaced with Islam on her identity card.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Hizb ut-Tahrir
Our last three Prime Ministers have all wanted to ban the Islamist Group Hizb-ut-Tahrir, but all have failed to do so. Why?
The reason seems to be that current legislation allows the banning of groups that act violently and those that foment violence. Hizb-ut-Tahrir, it seems just have unpleasant views and you can't be banned for those.
This is probably a good thing; otherwise we would be ruled by the thought police. Lord Carlile, the previous counter-terrorism reviewer, said yesterday, "I don't think anything is going to happen … I think the general view is that Hizb ut-Tahrir are best dealt with in public debate rather than by proscription."
They seem to be being defeated in public debate. They had their annual conference in Tower Hamlets recently and the turnout was 200 people, down from several thousand four years ago. This is a group that is rushing towards extinction
The reason seems to be that current legislation allows the banning of groups that act violently and those that foment violence. Hizb-ut-Tahrir, it seems just have unpleasant views and you can't be banned for those.
This is probably a good thing; otherwise we would be ruled by the thought police. Lord Carlile, the previous counter-terrorism reviewer, said yesterday, "I don't think anything is going to happen … I think the general view is that Hizb ut-Tahrir are best dealt with in public debate rather than by proscription."
They seem to be being defeated in public debate. They had their annual conference in Tower Hamlets recently and the turnout was 200 people, down from several thousand four years ago. This is a group that is rushing towards extinction
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
More Muslim atrocities
There is a trend for the Western media to increasingly support the Muslim cause in Africa and the Middle East. I have already commented on what is going on in Syria. Syria is a secular country with freedom of religion. It may be autocratic and no doubt it has come down hard against what it perceives as sedition, but we have to remember that in Western countries civilization was not built in a day. What is masquerading as a civil rights movement in Syria is in fact an extreme radical Muslim movement that intends to impose Sharia law and ban Christian churches.
There was enormous support for the democratically elected Muslim in the Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara and correct criticism of his predecessor, Laurent Gbagbo, who tried to hold on to power. However, we have heard nothing of the atrocities committed by Ouattara's supporters since they gained power. Here is an example: Two peasant brothers were brutally crucified after “the example of Christ” on 29 May by forces loyal to the new Muslim president. Raphael Aka Kouame died of his injuries; incredibly his younger brother, Kouassi Privat Kacou, survived the ordeal. The pair were badly beaten and tortured before being crudely nailed to cross-shaped planks by their hands and feet with steel spikes.
The brothers were falsely accused of hiding weapons in their home village of Binkro. The brothers repeatedly denied any involvement, but their pleas were ignored. After crucifying them, Ouattara’s men took them on an extensive search of Binkro, but they found only a store of medical equipment and supplies. The seriously wounded pair were then taken to prison in Oumé, where Raphael died that night.
This contrasts strongly with what is happening in next-door Nigeria where in the fairest election for generations, the Christian, Goodluck Jonathon won the election.
Christians and churches in Northern Nigeria have come under sustained attack since the re-election of the president in April, from supporters of the defeated Muslim candidate. Around 200 churches have been burned or destroyed and over 1,200 houses razed, and at least 800 people are estimated to have been killed.
A Nigerian missionary pastor in Bauchi State has been tortured and murdered by a group of Muslims after refusing to renounce his faith in Christ. The pastor was travelling in a van when it was pulled over by Muslims posing as police. They asked if anyone in the vehicle was a Christian, and the pastor said that he was. The men pulled him out of the van and told him repeatedly to renounce Christ. When he refused, they first beat him, then gouged out his eyes, and finally killed him and burned his body. He has left a widow and eight children.
Also an entire Christian village in Kaduna State has been burned to ashes by a mob of Muslim militants and its water supply contaminated. On 18 April the village of Ung. Kerau was attacked by more than 300 men armed with various weapons. The Christian villagers fled, and the mob torched the village. A local church leader said that the mob threw pepper, clothes, firewood and rubbish into the village’s two wells. He added that the villagers “were attacked simply because they are Christians”.
Elsewhere, the so-called Arab-Spring has not brought about the movement towards democracy that the West was hoping for. Some Christians in Tunisia who have tried to share their faith after the uprising earlier this year have been forced to flee the country or move to a safer location after receiving threats from Islamists. There are also signs that the influence of radical Islam is increasing across the country, raising fears that it is hijacking the revolution. Ennahda, Tunisia’s largest Islamist party, looks set to become the largest group in the new constitutional assembly following elections to be held on 23 July.
The Muslim Brotherhood, the leading Islamic party in Egypt, has formed a political alliance with Jama’a al-Islamiyya, a radical group that was behind a number of terrorist attacks in the 1990s (though it has recently renounced violence). The two groups announced that they will form a coalition to contest September’s parliamentary elections, in order to combat secular forces in the country.
Jama'a al-Islamiyya spokesman Osama Hafez underlined the parties’ commitment to upholding the place of Islam in Egyptian society: “Allah’s words must rule and Islam must be in the hearts of the citizens.”
Another political party has been formed by Salafist groups. Salafism is an ultra-conservative, strict and puritanical version of Islam related to Wahhabism, the official state creed of Saudi Arabia. The party says that if they gain power, Christians will be given “the right to refer to their religion”, but “the higher reference will be for Islamic sharia”.
There are real concerns that the Muslim Brotherhood might become the ruling party in Egypt, which would make life very difficult for the churches. A Jama'a al-Islamiyya leader recently called on Christians to secure their own safety by submitting to the god of Islam (by becoming Muslims). And Salafists were behind assaults on two churches and homes in Imbaba district, Cairo, in May in which 12 people were killed and scores injured. This is only one of a barrage of attacks that Christians have suffered since the revolution. Their position is precarious.
The changes that we are watching in Africa and the Middle East are largely paid for by Western aid. So far the ousting of the Libyan president has cost the UK economy £260 million. It is time for the citizens of the West, especially the Christian citizens, to bring pressure on our governments to make recipients of our largesse more accountable for the aid.
I see that in Pakistan an important Islamic political party has called for the Supreme Court to ban the Bible. A leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Maulana Abdul Rauf Farooqi, made the appeal at a press conference at a mosque in Lahore on 30 May. Farooqi described the Bible as “pornographic”. He claimed that “blasphemous” portions had been added, which charged some prophets with “a variety of moral crimes, which undermine the sanctity of the holy figures”. Farooqi said such “insertions” strongly offended Muslims, who hold all prophets and holy books in high esteem. He said that if the Supreme Court did not respond by banning the Bible, Islamic clerics would formally petition the court, and added that the move was an act of revenge against the desecration of the Quran by that idiot Terry Jones in Florida.
Imagine if the UK or USA decided to ban the Quran? Can you inmagine the outcry?
There was enormous support for the democratically elected Muslim in the Ivory Coast, Alassane Ouattara and correct criticism of his predecessor, Laurent Gbagbo, who tried to hold on to power. However, we have heard nothing of the atrocities committed by Ouattara's supporters since they gained power. Here is an example: Two peasant brothers were brutally crucified after “the example of Christ” on 29 May by forces loyal to the new Muslim president. Raphael Aka Kouame died of his injuries; incredibly his younger brother, Kouassi Privat Kacou, survived the ordeal. The pair were badly beaten and tortured before being crudely nailed to cross-shaped planks by their hands and feet with steel spikes.
The brothers were falsely accused of hiding weapons in their home village of Binkro. The brothers repeatedly denied any involvement, but their pleas were ignored. After crucifying them, Ouattara’s men took them on an extensive search of Binkro, but they found only a store of medical equipment and supplies. The seriously wounded pair were then taken to prison in Oumé, where Raphael died that night.
This contrasts strongly with what is happening in next-door Nigeria where in the fairest election for generations, the Christian, Goodluck Jonathon won the election.
Christians and churches in Northern Nigeria have come under sustained attack since the re-election of the president in April, from supporters of the defeated Muslim candidate. Around 200 churches have been burned or destroyed and over 1,200 houses razed, and at least 800 people are estimated to have been killed.
A Nigerian missionary pastor in Bauchi State has been tortured and murdered by a group of Muslims after refusing to renounce his faith in Christ. The pastor was travelling in a van when it was pulled over by Muslims posing as police. They asked if anyone in the vehicle was a Christian, and the pastor said that he was. The men pulled him out of the van and told him repeatedly to renounce Christ. When he refused, they first beat him, then gouged out his eyes, and finally killed him and burned his body. He has left a widow and eight children.
Also an entire Christian village in Kaduna State has been burned to ashes by a mob of Muslim militants and its water supply contaminated. On 18 April the village of Ung. Kerau was attacked by more than 300 men armed with various weapons. The Christian villagers fled, and the mob torched the village. A local church leader said that the mob threw pepper, clothes, firewood and rubbish into the village’s two wells. He added that the villagers “were attacked simply because they are Christians”.
Elsewhere, the so-called Arab-Spring has not brought about the movement towards democracy that the West was hoping for. Some Christians in Tunisia who have tried to share their faith after the uprising earlier this year have been forced to flee the country or move to a safer location after receiving threats from Islamists. There are also signs that the influence of radical Islam is increasing across the country, raising fears that it is hijacking the revolution. Ennahda, Tunisia’s largest Islamist party, looks set to become the largest group in the new constitutional assembly following elections to be held on 23 July.
The Muslim Brotherhood, the leading Islamic party in Egypt, has formed a political alliance with Jama’a al-Islamiyya, a radical group that was behind a number of terrorist attacks in the 1990s (though it has recently renounced violence). The two groups announced that they will form a coalition to contest September’s parliamentary elections, in order to combat secular forces in the country.
Jama'a al-Islamiyya spokesman Osama Hafez underlined the parties’ commitment to upholding the place of Islam in Egyptian society: “Allah’s words must rule and Islam must be in the hearts of the citizens.”
Another political party has been formed by Salafist groups. Salafism is an ultra-conservative, strict and puritanical version of Islam related to Wahhabism, the official state creed of Saudi Arabia. The party says that if they gain power, Christians will be given “the right to refer to their religion”, but “the higher reference will be for Islamic sharia”.
There are real concerns that the Muslim Brotherhood might become the ruling party in Egypt, which would make life very difficult for the churches. A Jama'a al-Islamiyya leader recently called on Christians to secure their own safety by submitting to the god of Islam (by becoming Muslims). And Salafists were behind assaults on two churches and homes in Imbaba district, Cairo, in May in which 12 people were killed and scores injured. This is only one of a barrage of attacks that Christians have suffered since the revolution. Their position is precarious.
The changes that we are watching in Africa and the Middle East are largely paid for by Western aid. So far the ousting of the Libyan president has cost the UK economy £260 million. It is time for the citizens of the West, especially the Christian citizens, to bring pressure on our governments to make recipients of our largesse more accountable for the aid.
I see that in Pakistan an important Islamic political party has called for the Supreme Court to ban the Bible. A leader of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Maulana Abdul Rauf Farooqi, made the appeal at a press conference at a mosque in Lahore on 30 May. Farooqi described the Bible as “pornographic”. He claimed that “blasphemous” portions had been added, which charged some prophets with “a variety of moral crimes, which undermine the sanctity of the holy figures”. Farooqi said such “insertions” strongly offended Muslims, who hold all prophets and holy books in high esteem. He said that if the Supreme Court did not respond by banning the Bible, Islamic clerics would formally petition the court, and added that the move was an act of revenge against the desecration of the Quran by that idiot Terry Jones in Florida.
Imagine if the UK or USA decided to ban the Quran? Can you inmagine the outcry?
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Galatians 5:19-21. Bin Laden gone.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
I'm not sure how many of these sins Osama bin Laden was guilty of; he was on his fifth wife and had countless children, despite being a teetotaller he had a healthy appetite for the caffeine of Coke and Pepsi, he was certainly guilty of hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy towards the United States. He was altogether a wicked man, though like Adolf Hitler, he was apparently kind to dumb animals. From reports he was devoted to an interpretation of Islam which sought to wage war on Western values and was equally ranged against other Islamic traditions. He inspired a generation of Islamist fascists who took part in mayhem and murder across the globe. He claimed to be the planner and inspiration of much of it.
Now he is gone. There will no doubt be conspiracy theories about his still surviving, but I have no truck with them. It would have been preferable, perhaps, if like Saddam Hussain he had been captured and brought to trial, but he was truly a participant in a war and has died the death of a common soldier. No-one should mourn his demise. No doubt we shall see retaliatory atrocities. We must weather them.
Be assured, "those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." there will be no 72 virgins waiting for him.
I'm not sure how many of these sins Osama bin Laden was guilty of; he was on his fifth wife and had countless children, despite being a teetotaller he had a healthy appetite for the caffeine of Coke and Pepsi, he was certainly guilty of hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy towards the United States. He was altogether a wicked man, though like Adolf Hitler, he was apparently kind to dumb animals. From reports he was devoted to an interpretation of Islam which sought to wage war on Western values and was equally ranged against other Islamic traditions. He inspired a generation of Islamist fascists who took part in mayhem and murder across the globe. He claimed to be the planner and inspiration of much of it.
Now he is gone. There will no doubt be conspiracy theories about his still surviving, but I have no truck with them. It would have been preferable, perhaps, if like Saddam Hussain he had been captured and brought to trial, but he was truly a participant in a war and has died the death of a common soldier. No-one should mourn his demise. No doubt we shall see retaliatory atrocities. We must weather them.
Be assured, "those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." there will be no 72 virgins waiting for him.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Apostasy
I picked up this from the Open Doors website
A Christian in Afghanistan facing "apostasy" charges punishable by death is still without legal representation after authorities blocked a foreign lawyer’s attempt to visit him in prison. Said Musa (45) was arrested in May after images of Christians worshipping were broadcast on a popular TV channel.
A Christian lawyer from the region, who requested anonymity, travelled to Kabul on behalf of an American Christian legal rights organisation, Advocates International, to represent Musa, but the authorities denied him access to Musa and to his charges file.
"If a man is not entitled to define his own beliefs and to change those ideas under the existing constitutional order of Afghanistan, then how is this government more moral than the Taliban’s?", the lawyer asked.
Musa has been imprisoned for seven months, even though an accused person has the right to be released if no valid charge is brought before the courts within 15 days of arrest.
The court hearing is expected to take place imminently but because of the sensitivity of the case, Musa is still searching for a lawyer who will defend him. In a letter from prison, Musa asked Christians to pray for him and for his country. Musa is married and has six young children.
Another Afghan Christian in prison for his faith is Shoib Assadullah, 25, who was arrested on 12 October for giving a New Testament to a man who then turned him in to authorities. Shoib is in jail in northern Afghanistan and, like Musa, cannot find a lawyer to defend him. Sources close to him have said that despite everything, he is not frightened and his faith is strong, but he desperately misses having a Bible.
Source: Compass Direct News
Please pray:
1. For Musa and Shoib, that able defence lawyers will be found to represent them in court and they get a fair trial.
2. That these men will be strengthened in prison, both in mind and spirit, and they would know they are not alone.
3. That God would bless Advocates International and raise up similar organisations, so that persecuted Christians would have access to legal representation in such cases.
A Christian in Afghanistan facing "apostasy" charges punishable by death is still without legal representation after authorities blocked a foreign lawyer’s attempt to visit him in prison. Said Musa (45) was arrested in May after images of Christians worshipping were broadcast on a popular TV channel.
A Christian lawyer from the region, who requested anonymity, travelled to Kabul on behalf of an American Christian legal rights organisation, Advocates International, to represent Musa, but the authorities denied him access to Musa and to his charges file.
"If a man is not entitled to define his own beliefs and to change those ideas under the existing constitutional order of Afghanistan, then how is this government more moral than the Taliban’s?", the lawyer asked.
Musa has been imprisoned for seven months, even though an accused person has the right to be released if no valid charge is brought before the courts within 15 days of arrest.
The court hearing is expected to take place imminently but because of the sensitivity of the case, Musa is still searching for a lawyer who will defend him. In a letter from prison, Musa asked Christians to pray for him and for his country. Musa is married and has six young children.
Another Afghan Christian in prison for his faith is Shoib Assadullah, 25, who was arrested on 12 October for giving a New Testament to a man who then turned him in to authorities. Shoib is in jail in northern Afghanistan and, like Musa, cannot find a lawyer to defend him. Sources close to him have said that despite everything, he is not frightened and his faith is strong, but he desperately misses having a Bible.
Source: Compass Direct News
Please pray:
1. For Musa and Shoib, that able defence lawyers will be found to represent them in court and they get a fair trial.
2. That these men will be strengthened in prison, both in mind and spirit, and they would know they are not alone.
3. That God would bless Advocates International and raise up similar organisations, so that persecuted Christians would have access to legal representation in such cases.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
So now you want a King?
Have you ever wondered why we don't want big government. You will find a Biblical answer in 1 Samuel chapter 8. The Israelites were clamouring for king, even though Samuel was against it. God told Samuel to tell them why they didn't need one, but if they really pressed he should give them one. They got a tall dark and handsome one. What a disaster! Ring any bells?
"This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves."
I like the bit about donkeys.
"This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves."
I like the bit about donkeys.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Home from China
After my line was successfully inserted on Wednesday, I was well enough yesterday to attend our first church home group meeting in several months. Three of the groups have been supporting a missionary family from Lansdowne who are working in China but home on furlough at present and they put on a presentation of their work for us all (30-40 of us).
They work in Chengdu in southwest China, the capital of Sichuan province. It is a city with a population of 11 million. Like many parts of China it has undergone rapid industrialization with a move from the country into the city. There is much heavy industry but also electronics and financial services to give employment, but smog (as we saw at the Olympics) is a great problem. Forty miles to the north is the Tibetan plain, but usually the mountains are hidden in the smog.
Although, still a communist country, China has undergone great liberalization and in most parts Christians who obey the civil law are in no danger. The recent bloody fighting between Han people and at least 1,000 Muslim Uyghurs in Ürümqi, the city of the Xinjiang Uyghur in northwestern China in which 197 people died with 1,721 others injured and many vehicles and buildings destroyed was quite atypical. It is to be hoped that there is not a backlash against all religions as a result of violence from the mad Mullahs.
The Church in China is either registered or unregistered. The Registered church, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement was an attempt to free China from foreign domination - Western Christianity was tainted by the Opium trade and the Boxer revolution. Today it is made up of mainly older women. But the real growth has been in the unregistered House Church movement with perhaps 50-100 million members nationwide. In Chendu there are many such house churches with congregations of up to 200. Western missionaries generally attend Western Churches that are permitted to exist by the state, but indigenous Christians tend to go to the House Churches. The twain do not mix much to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Keeping them from any flagrant demonstration or triumphalism is key to gaining acceptance from the secular state. Ostentatious displays are likely to draw the attention of the religious police.
What has been noticeable is the acceptance of the good works of the unregistered house churches by Communist Party members. In the earthquakes of 2008, the epicenter was only 48 miles from Chendu, but because of the quality of building construction in the city there was no more damage than was caused by a force 4 earthquake in Folkestone in Kent a couple of years ago. To the north of Chendu the damage was devastating, killing more than 80,000 people, including thousands of children who were crushed to death when their schools collapsed on them. More than 374,000 people were injured and millions left homeless when the 8.0 magnitude quake struck southwestern Sichuan province. Its epicentre was in the mountainous county of Wenchuan, where nearly 24,000 died or were counted as missing - about a fifth of the population.
China launched a massive aid operation immediately after the quake, sending in troops to rescue people trapped in rubble, organise evacuations and deliver aid. Scores of aircraft were also deployed. The quake marked the first time that China had asked for outside assistance to deal with a major disaster. But U.N. agencies and international groups played a relatively minor role - partly because China has significant resources and long experience in dealing with large crises.
My friend and many of the local Christians were prominent among those taking aid to the distressed and local officials did not fail to observe this. I am told that there were suddenly new words in Mandarin for 'donation' and 'volunteer'.
Being salt and light in the world is far better than bombs and bullets in influencing people. In the last year my friends have seen CP members trying to get their children into the free Kindergarten run by house churches for pre-school children. They want some of what they have for their children.
They work in Chengdu in southwest China, the capital of Sichuan province. It is a city with a population of 11 million. Like many parts of China it has undergone rapid industrialization with a move from the country into the city. There is much heavy industry but also electronics and financial services to give employment, but smog (as we saw at the Olympics) is a great problem. Forty miles to the north is the Tibetan plain, but usually the mountains are hidden in the smog.
Although, still a communist country, China has undergone great liberalization and in most parts Christians who obey the civil law are in no danger. The recent bloody fighting between Han people and at least 1,000 Muslim Uyghurs in Ürümqi, the city of the Xinjiang Uyghur in northwestern China in which 197 people died with 1,721 others injured and many vehicles and buildings destroyed was quite atypical. It is to be hoped that there is not a backlash against all religions as a result of violence from the mad Mullahs.
The Church in China is either registered or unregistered. The Registered church, the Three-Self Patriotic Movement was an attempt to free China from foreign domination - Western Christianity was tainted by the Opium trade and the Boxer revolution. Today it is made up of mainly older women. But the real growth has been in the unregistered House Church movement with perhaps 50-100 million members nationwide. In Chendu there are many such house churches with congregations of up to 200. Western missionaries generally attend Western Churches that are permitted to exist by the state, but indigenous Christians tend to go to the House Churches. The twain do not mix much to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Keeping them from any flagrant demonstration or triumphalism is key to gaining acceptance from the secular state. Ostentatious displays are likely to draw the attention of the religious police.
What has been noticeable is the acceptance of the good works of the unregistered house churches by Communist Party members. In the earthquakes of 2008, the epicenter was only 48 miles from Chendu, but because of the quality of building construction in the city there was no more damage than was caused by a force 4 earthquake in Folkestone in Kent a couple of years ago. To the north of Chendu the damage was devastating, killing more than 80,000 people, including thousands of children who were crushed to death when their schools collapsed on them. More than 374,000 people were injured and millions left homeless when the 8.0 magnitude quake struck southwestern Sichuan province. Its epicentre was in the mountainous county of Wenchuan, where nearly 24,000 died or were counted as missing - about a fifth of the population.
China launched a massive aid operation immediately after the quake, sending in troops to rescue people trapped in rubble, organise evacuations and deliver aid. Scores of aircraft were also deployed. The quake marked the first time that China had asked for outside assistance to deal with a major disaster. But U.N. agencies and international groups played a relatively minor role - partly because China has significant resources and long experience in dealing with large crises.
My friend and many of the local Christians were prominent among those taking aid to the distressed and local officials did not fail to observe this. I am told that there were suddenly new words in Mandarin for 'donation' and 'volunteer'.
Being salt and light in the world is far better than bombs and bullets in influencing people. In the last year my friends have seen CP members trying to get their children into the free Kindergarten run by house churches for pre-school children. They want some of what they have for their children.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)