Tag: Christian Persecution

Life for Christians in the Middle East worsening, assembly hears

Life for Christians in the Middle East worsening, assembly hears

By ENInews – 10 Oct 2012

Life for Christians in the Middle East has “never been worse” and their future is acutely endangered, according to the leader of an evangelical church fellowship.

Rosangela Jarjour, general secretary of the Beirut-based Fellowship of Middle East Evangelical Churches, was speaking at the 7th General Assembly of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE). The assembly met in Florence, Italy, at the end of last month.

“We don’t want to become refugees, but to live in peace and with full citizens’ rights and duties in our own land,” she declared.

Everyday life for Christians, who in the past were able to lead quite secure lives, is now fraught with fear, said Jarjour, who is from Homs, Syria, recently the site of battles between rebel and government forces.

Christians are now finding that they are no longer allowed to practice their religion and that their civil rights to freedom and free speech “are constantly violated, whilst previously secular matters are consumed by Islam,” she said.

More than 50,000 Christians have fled Egypt alone since the onset of the revolution there. Continue reading “Life for Christians in the Middle East worsening, assembly hears” →

Please pray for believers in Syria – “My people are hurting…”

Peanut Gallery: The Holy Spirit has led me to pray for believers in Syria for the coming week.

This prayer request (sent to Open Doors UK) comes from a pastor in Syria and is self explanatory. See below –

Please join me in prayer…

  1. For peace in the country and an end to the bloodshed. For God’s rich mercies on the suffering people.
  2. For the safety and protection of the churches, keeping the church’s faithful witness.
  3. Wisdom and vision for church leaders.
  4. For the glory of the living God to dwell in the Church.
  5. To empower the Church to reach out to the suffering, to share the divine cure of the gospel, and to speak the word of the Lord in all boldness.
  6. That the evil powers of darkness will be defeated in our land.
  7. That the values of false religion will be exposed for what they are and despised and rejected by many.
  8. For many souls to come to know the love and forgiveness of Christ and to enjoy His saving grace.
  9. That the Lord would send wise, God-fearing counselors to the decision-makers in all parties in the country.

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With love from Syria…

Syria has been closed to the outside world for many weeks. We have since received this letter from a leading pastor in Syria. In it he writes of the situation in Syria, his hopes, fears and trust in the Lord. He also asks for prayer. The pastor writes to the church in the UK – he writes to you. Please read this and keep him in your prayers.

Dear Friend,

My people are hurting...

It was much unexpected turmoil. Not even in our wildest dreams did we imagine the violence that is sweeping across the country now. For many years Syria enjoyed peace and stability in the heart of the unstable Middle East. We were a safe haven for our neighbors. We received displaced people and refugees from other countries like Palestine, Lebanon, Iraq, Sudan, and even from Somalia and other far away areas. Yet now the violence pushed the host people out of their homes, fleeing for their lives.

Many are displaced internally and many others are external refugees living in the most humiliating circumstances, deprived of even shelter , clean water, power, food, and medical care. Millions are not sleeping in their own beds, forced out of their homes to find themselves with their children homeless and living in public parks or in the wilderness. Others are not sure if they or their children and loved ones will see the light of a new day, tens of thousands of families lost loved ones: a child, a father, a mother, or a husband. Hundreds of the injured died for lack of medical care. Thousands of children go to bed terrified of the sound of shelling. Hundreds of thousands are in camps in neighboring countries. Continue reading “Please pray for believers in Syria – “My people are hurting…”” →

Please Pray for Religious Freedom Around the Globe

Peanut Gallery: Please pray for religious freedom around the globe. As the following study indicates, religious freedom is on the decline world-wide… and even here in America. And Christians who take the Great Commission seriously do so at great risk to themselves and their families.

The Great Commission:

Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28.18-20 NLT

Please ask the Holy Spirit to place a particular country or “people group” for which to pray. The following graphs show countries that are identified as very highly restrictive. Do a little research using Wikipedia or Open Doors Country Profiles for background information and Google news updates daily. Then, decide how long you would like to pray for a specific country or people group. Let the Holy Spirit guide you… particularly when you don’t know how to pray.

Please pray for spiritual and physical protection, courage, wisdom, unity among believers, and that the fruit of the spirit be made manifest in the heart and life of every believer… to the glory of God.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Special thanks to One Tenth Blog for bringing the following Pew Forum study to our attention. Please check out the One Tenth Blog here.

Rising Tide of Restrictions on Religion (The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life)

The Pew Study is extensive with graphs and charts illustrating the growing restrictions to Religious freedom. It is well worth the read… but it is also overwhelming – 75% of the world’s population live under high or very high restrictions. These restrictions are enforced directly by government regulations and indirectly by religious groups within countries.
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A rising tide of restrictions on religion spread across the world between mid-2009 and mid-2010, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center’s Forumrestrict3-1 on Religion & Public Life. Restrictions on religion rose in each of the five major regions of the world – including in the Americas and sub-Saharan Africa, the two regions where overall restrictions previously had been declining.

The share of countries with high or very high restrictions on religious beliefs and practices rose from 31% in the year ending in mid-2009 to 37% in the year ending in mid-2010. Because some of the most restrictive countries are very populous, three-quarters of the world’s approximately 7 billion people live in countries with high government restrictions on religion or high social hostilities involving religion, up from 70% a year earlier.

Restrictions on religion rose not only in countries that began the year with high or very high restrictions or hostilities, such as Indonesia and Nigeria, but also in many countries that began with low or moderate restrictions or hostilities, such as Switzerland and the United States. (See sidebar on the U.S..)

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Peanut Gallery: The following links will help you neavigate the Pew Study.

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS –
Navigate this page:

 

Please pray for believers in Northern Nigeria – Christian students Killed by Boko Haram

Peanut Gallery: Warning – the news report from Nigeria is graphic and disturbing.

Northern Nigeria: “Mubi town fell victim to a terrorist attack on 2 October 2012 when suspected members of Boko Haram entered the town at around 10pm and started to kill indiscriminately. The victims were mostly students from the three educational institutions based in the town. The death toll was put at 25 initially, however, the number is said to be closer to 45.”

“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.” Ephesians 6:18 (NLT)

PRAYER: Lord, in our relatively safe homes, it is difficult for us to wrap our minds around the tragedy that has occurred yet again in Nigeria. We pray for those who have lost loved ones in this night of terror. Comfort them as only You can do. And break the power of fear that has been cast over them that they might have the courage to meet the challenges of each new day. And protect them, Lord. Where the government has been uncaring or impotent or even part of the violence, change their hearts to stand for justice. And may all know that it is You who has brought about justice in this place. Amen

FULL STORY BELOW –

Christians Targeted in Nigeria’s University Killings, Students Say

The gunmen who killed at least 46 people in Nigeria’s northwestern town of Mubi on Monday (Oct. 1) first asked them if they were Christians before shooting or knifing them, according to students who escaped the carnage.

Two students from the off-campus housing site in the Mubi suburb of Wuro Fatuje, Adamawa state, where the massacre took place, told Morning Star News that the assailants were ethnic Hausa Muslims who shouted “Allahu Akbar [Allah is greater]” as they shot or stabbed hostel residents. One of the students said the assailants also torched a church building in nearby Tudun Wada the same night.

The students speculated that non-Christian victims among the dead were killed by mistake or suspected of collaborating with security agency raids in Mubi last month that resulted in the round-up of 156 members of Islamic extremist group Boko Haram and the death of one of its leaders.

The gunmen invaded the off-campus housing site serving three Mubi schools Continue reading “Please pray for believers in Northern Nigeria – Christian students Killed by Boko Haram” →

AU Attempts to Intimidate 60,000 Pastors (Public Catholic)

Warning Letter to 60,000 Pastors: We’re Watching What You Preach

September 29, 2012 By  9 Comments

Americans United for Separation of Church and State evidently sent copies of this letter to 60,000 pastors recently. It’s important to remember that Americans United is not an official agency of any governmental entity. This letter has no force of law and is just their opinion. Our local AU affiliate here in Oklahoma has sent similar letters to pastors in my House district in the past. The pastors I talked to about it tell me they threw it in the trash.