Tag: Religious Freedom

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:

 

Assemblies of God Launches ‘7:14 Prayer Initiative’ Ahead of Presidential Election

Assemblies of God Launches ‘7:14 Prayer Initiative’ Ahead of Presidential Election

Cornerstone Church of Madison, Tenn., an Assemblies of God congregation, is pictured here.

By Alex Murashko, Christian Post Reporter

September 30, 2012|10:20 am

Leaders at Assemblies of God USA, one of the largest Pentecostal denominations in the nation, say the country is facing a time of crisis like no other and are asking Christians to join them in a “7:14 Prayer Initiative” (based on 2 Chronicles 7:14) beginning today (Sept. 30) and continuing through the presidential election.

“Our nation faces unprecedented crises,” said Superintendent George O. Wood in a video message posted on the AG website. “Let’s not misuse our freedom by failing to vote on Election Day. Jesus called the Church to be salt and light in the world, and one of the ways to do this is by voting.”

Wood encourages Christians to “prayerfully and carefully” consider the candidates and issues in the November elections. He urges Christians to “bring biblical and moral values to bear on the pressing concerns of our day, including abortion, unemployment, gay marriage, education, religious freedom, war and other issues,” AG leaders stated.

Christians are also encouraged to set aside a few minutes each day to pray for the nation and its leaders. Continue reading “Assemblies of God Launches ‘7:14 Prayer Initiative’ Ahead of Presidential Election” →

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.

Please Pray for New Believers – Christian Persecution: The High Price of Conversion

Peanut Gallery: Grace is a free gift from God… but many who receive it around the world pay a high personal price. And yet – what other hope is there for the world around us?

“And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.” Romans 5:16 NLT

Please pray for those new believers in unbelieving countries who are paying a heavy personal price to follow Jesus… shining God’s light in a very dark world.

Please click on following link to Public Catholic – Christian Persecution: The High Price of Conversion.

Christian Persecution: The High Price of Conversion
September 28, 2012 By Rebecca Hamilton

India: Converting from Hinduism
An Indian state’s draconian “anti-conversion” law has been partially struck down in a legal challenge brought by Christians and celebrated as “a triumph for religious freedom” in the country.

The Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI) took its case against the Himachal Pradesh Religion Act 2006 to the state’s high court, which ruled on 30 August that some provisions of the law were unconstitutional.

Supreme Court of India

The court removed a section that required a person intending to convert from one religion to another to give 30 days’ notice to the district magistrate. Failure to do this was punishable with a fine.

Two rules regarding the implementation of the act were also struck down. One required the district magistrate to give notice of the conversion request to any affected party before granting approval, and the other required a police case to be registered if the conversion was thought to have taken place using force or inducement or without notice.

The EFI challenged the law because of the ways in which it was being used, especially by Hindu extremists, to stop people from converting to Christianity. Continue reading “Please Pray for New Believers – Christian Persecution: The High Price of Conversion” →

What’s the matter with these people?

Peanut Gallery: Have you ever wondered why some people just don’t get it… even on the simplest level, eg the fundamental right to life? Here’s an insight from the Apostle Paul –

1 Corinthians 2:14
English Standard Version (ESV)

14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

1 Corinthians 2:14
J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)

14-16 But the unspiritual man simply cannot accept the matters which the Spirit deals with—they just don’t make sense to him, for, after all, you must be spiritual to see spiritual things. The spiritual man, on the other hand, has an insight into the meaning of everything, though his insight may baffle the man of the world. This is because the former is sharing in God’s wisdom, and ‘Who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?’ Incredible as it may sound, we who are spiritual have the very thoughts of Christ!