Persecuted Church Prayer Challenge – 2013 Open Doors World Rankings – North Korea #1

Peanut Gallery: In America, we pretty much take religious freedom for granted – not so for Christians around the world. Open Doors (USA) has just released its 2013 world rankings of persecution by country.

North Korea is still the worst, but the situation in Africa is deteriorating – see Mali. And the civil war in Syria has placed Christians in great jeopardy.

This link (click here) will take you to the Open Doors(USA) website with rankings and background information on each country.

What can you do? Pray, pray and pray again. Please check out this video that explains how your 5 minute weekly prayer can make a difference.

You can sign up here for weekly 5 min prayer updates… eventually you will pray for all 50 countries in 2013.

Special thanks to rodiagnusdei for bringing this update to our attention. Please check out their website here. Their original post is re-blogged below.
__________________________________________

Open Doors USA releases its world ranking of persecution by country – North Korea still #1, Mali newcomer to list #7

Information and watch list from the non denominational group http://www.OpenDoorsUSA.org. Rankings released January 8,2013 –

North Korea – For the eleventh year running, this is the most difficult place on earth to be a Christian. In a country of 24.5 million, there are just 400,000 Christians. North Korea is one of the remaining Communist states, and it is vehemently opposed to religion of any kind. Christians are classified as hostile and face arrest, detention, torture, even public execution. There is a system of labor camps including the renowned prison No. 15, which reportedly houses 6,000 Christians alone. But despite severe oppression, there is a growing underground church movement of an estimated 400,000 Christians. We have written on North Korea several times in the past year. At the bottom are some noteworthy articles you can read in order to become more familiar with the brutal hardship that is endured by the Christians of North Korea. You can also read about North Korea’s hidden gulag, below all of the links, and visit the website that published The Hidden Gulag Report.

African countries surge – Open Doors reports that persecution of Christians in Africa vastly increased in 2012. Mali is a newcomer on the list and holds the No. 7 position. Tanzania (No. 24), Kenya (No. 40), Uganda (47) and Niger (No. 50) also moved onto the World Watch List and Ethiopia is one of the strongest risers (from No. 38 to No. 15) on the list. In addition, the small African country of Eritrea made the Top 10 for the first time at No. 10. Libya climbed from No. 26 to No. 17.

Syria made the largest jump on the World Watch List. The country is No. 11 on the list, compared to No. 36 in 2012.

Christians are persecuted in at least 60 countries for their faith. They suffer interrogation, arrest and even death in some of the most dangerous and restrictive countries in the world. For 58 years Open Doors has supported and strengthened believers worldwide through Bible and Christian literature distribution, leadership training and assistance, Christian community development and prayer and presence ministry. To partner with Open Doors USA, call toll free at 888-5-BIBLE-5 ( 888-524-2535 ) or go to our Website at http://www.OpenDoorsUSA.org.

Re-Blog: The Adoption Commercial — Alternative To Abortion « Catholibertarian

The Adoption Commercial — Alternative To Abortion
By Teresa Rice, catholibertarian.com 2013, 01, 07

From Heroic Media:

“Heroic Media’s mission is to present women with hopeful alternatives to abortion – and adoption is a beautiful alternative!”

“Our new pro-adoption TV commercial shares the message that adoption is a loving choice that gives a birthmother the ability to choose a family for her baby and receive support throughout her pregnancy.”

Bethany Christian Services has already begun to experience the wonderful effects of the adoption commercial.

From Christian Newswire:

Heroic Media, with nearly 10 years of experience developing pro-life media messages, created its first TV spot focused on sharing the option of adoption with women facing unplanned pregnancies. During the campaign, 45 spots aired nationwide over a four week period. As a result of the campaign, hundreds of pregnant women unsure about their situation contacted Bethany Christian Services’ licensed pregnancy counselors for more information about their options.

According to Bethany, one such birthmother in Florida contacted the organization to discuss adoption as she had been considering leaving her baby at the hospital after giving birth, as allowed by state law. Ultimately, the birthmother decided to place her daughter with a pastor and his wife through Bethany Christian Services.

This is a wonderful ad campaign. May both the birthmothers and the adoption parents be blessed as they go through the adoption process. While Kevin and I are not financially able to adopt at this time I want to become an advocate for adoption. Plus, I think it’s a bit too soon since I just had my hysterectomy in September.

There are so many couples out there who are unable to conceive and I hope this adoption commercial campaign opens the eyes of women who are going through unplanned pregnancies so that instead of them choosing to kill their unborn children, God’s creation, that God will give them the grace to choose life and give couples the chance to adopt, care for and love the precious babies. Every living human being deserves a chance to live. The unborn have the God-given right to live.

Egypt Votes: Round One – Choose Secular or Islamist? (BBC News Re-Post)

Egyptians vote in divisive referendum on constitution – (BBC News)
People in Egypt are voting on a new constitution endorsed by the Islamist president, which has divided the country and sparked deadly unrest.

President Mohammed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood have campaigned heavily in favour of the draft document, which may define Egypt for years to come.

Opponents say it is poorly drafted and overly favours Islamists.

______________________

The BBC’s Jon Leyne reports from Cairo that the referendum is more than a vote on obscure clauses – it is about whether Egypt should be an Islamic country or a secular one.

______________________

The opposition National Salvation Front coalition has accused the Muslim Brotherhood of trying to rig the vote.

However, the ballot, which is staggered over Saturday and a second day of voting in a week’s time, appears to be going smoothly with indications of a high turnout.

____________________________________

referendum-vote-pope-new.n — How did Coptic Pope Tawadros vote? Click on pic link for story.

____________________________________

BBC correspondents at polling stations report a relaxed mood. Many people said they were voting for the restoration of stability in Egypt. Continue reading “Egypt Votes: Round One – Choose Secular or Islamist? (BBC News Re-Post)” →

Update on Egypt Vote: Divide and Conquer

Peanut Gallery: Morsi has decided to “bifurcate” the referendum on Egypt’s new constitution… setting the dates a week apart – Dec 15 & 22.

Andrew McCarthy details below why this works to Morsi’s advantage and why he and the Muslim Brotherhood are likely to prevail.

For those of you who would like a larger perspective on the “Arab Spring” and the “Islamic Supremacy” movement, I commend to you McCarthy ‘s book “Spring Fever” coming soon in paperback. McCarthy also writes regularly for PJMedia.com.
________________________________

Morsi Staggers Referendum on Constitution by Andrew McCarthy (December 12th, 2012 – 7:55 am)

Amid the continuing unrest in Egypt, President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood has now decided to bifurcate the referendum on the proposed sharia constitution. The voting will go forward as scheduled this Saturday, but only in ten governorates. The rest of the country will then vote the following Saturday, December 22.
________________________________

The Illusion of Islamic Democracy – Andrew McCarthy
________________________________

The whole point of Morsi’s presidency, the point of everything he’s done for the last five months, is the implementation of a sharia constitution. As I explain in Spring Fever: The Illusion of Islamic Democracy (soon to be published in paperback), that is what Morsi and the Brotherhood promised to do during the campaign leading to his election as president. Sharia implementation is the goal behind his seizures of dictatorial powers: In August, Morsi awarded himself legislative authority Continue reading “Update on Egypt Vote: Divide and Conquer” →

Update: The New/Old “Mosque” at Ground Zero

Peanut Gallery: Here’s an update from the folks at pjmedia. I’m posting this because it’s a good example of how things get convoluted in Muslim-American Media relations. Things are never what they seem on the surface.

Who won this “tug of war?” You be the judge… but remember, they’ll be back at it again when the opportunity arises… perhaps, next door to you.
_________________________________________

The Ground Zero Mosque and Media Sleight of Hand

The irony could not have been thicker: the New York Post reported Sunday that one year after the notorious Park51 “community center” opened “with great fanfare,” it was “now an empty space with no community programs.” Park51, you may recall, is the official name of what is more famously known as the Ground Zero mosque. The entire controversy over the Ground Zero mosque is an illuminating example of how the media manipulates public perceptions.

This non-center is still in the damaged Burlington Coat Factory building.

Now the central deception – that the Ground Zero mosque was never really a mosque at all — has been fully revealed. The Post continued: “What’s more, while the developers behind Park51 insisted for two years that the project was more than a mosque, it now appears to be just that. Dozens of worshipers gather at the site on Park Place Friday for prayer services — but that’s the only activity in the building.”

This is the ignominious denouement of the institution that its developer, Sharif El-Gamal, once boasted would soon be “the most famous community center in the whole world.”

Continue reading “Update: The New/Old “Mosque” at Ground Zero” →