China's Olympic Village Bible Ban: Good News?

Reports of China's prohibition of Bibles inside the Athlete's Village at next year's Beijing Olympics are slowly trickling out (do a Google News search for the topic and see how many mainstream media outlets are not reporting on it), it occurs to me that this action serves to highlight the power of the Gospel, and the fact that the Chinese government is operating not from a position of strength, but in abject fear.

That the iron-fisted government of one of the world's superpowers would simultaneously recognize and fear the power of God's word enough to ban it, while thinking that such a ban will actually be the slightest bit effective in blunting that power would be laughable if it wasn't so pitiful.

What the Chinese government seems to be incapable of grasping (or perhaps it's just in desperate denial) is that whether or not the Word is present in paper form, it will still be carried by thousands of visitors and athletes in their hearts and souls, and it will be shared by the millions of Chinese Christians for whom the term "freedom" has a connotation that many of us in the comfortable West can scarcely begin to imagine.

Some are reporting that the Koran will not be subject to a similar ban. If this is indeed true, it seem to indicate that the Chinese government doesn't fear the power of that book. Again, Christians should be flattered by the comparison.

Support a fellow blogger's appeal for refugee status

Update: Isaac emailed to correct something I wrote below. The appointment this week set the date for the hearing that will decide his status. Sorry for the misunderstanding, but that means he has more time to prepare his case. Prayers still needed...that doesn't change.

Isaac Schrödinger's blog masthead says it all: "pakistani-born - ex-muslim - refugee-claimant - pro-usa, and he's backed it up over the years via a prodigious number of posts. He has applied to Canada for refugee status and will be presenting his case before a tribunal of judges later this week.

Why does he feel the need for refugee status? This post details some of the examples of how "apostates" are treated by their Muslim countrymen in Pakistan. And this Reuters news article documents the findings of an independent Pakistani commission showing how religious intolerance toward non-Muslims in that country continues to grow.

I'm not sure what's at stake for Isaac should the hearing not go well, but I'd ask you to join with me in praying that we don't have to find that out. I'm sure Isaac would appreciate knowing of your support for him in this very important hearing.

IDOP 2005

The annual International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church is this Sunday, November 13. Christians around the world will unite in prayer for their brothers and sisters who are being discriminated against, harassed, tortured and killed because of their faith in Jesus Christ.

If this seems to be an event with no discernible reason for existence, consider the following reports that just arrived in my mailbox from the Voice of the Martyrs:

• China - Public Security Bureau officers recently burst into a Sunday school room and herded 30 children into a van. Despite the scary situation, one child started singing. The van soon was filled with song. Upon arrival at the police station, the children marched bravely into the interrogation room still singing to the Lord. Threatened with having to write "I do not believe in Jesus" 100 times before they would be released, the children instead wrote: "I believe in Jesus today. I will believe in Jesus tomorrow. I will believe in Jesus forever!"


• Guinea - A baptism ceremony in Nzerekore was attacked Wednesday, Ocober 19th, by Muslims. They complained the music from the service disturbed their prayers at a nearby mosque. Ten people were injured, two seriously, and several houses were sacked. The Muslims rioted again that Friday evening and razed a local video store.


• Indonesia - Three Christian teenage girls were beheaded by assailants dressed in black on October 29th, as they walked to school. So far no witness has been questioned and no suspect arrested, according to police. One student survived and described the attack.


• Nigeria - A 30-year-old Christian resident of Paiko was severely tortured. He claims that at one point police beat him with their batons and almost killed him. It was only through the intervention of his pastor and a lawyer from his church that he was released. Since he has become an "infidel" in the eyes of his Muslim employer, he can no longer care for their cattle. Besides the loss of income he faces, Sashi's pastor has said that the Muslims will also never abandon their resolve to kill him. Sashi has reportedly received death threats since his release.


• Somalia - Dr. Osman Sheik Ahmed, a well-known figure in Somalia's higher education sphere, was shot and killed October 7th, in Northern Mogadishu. Witnesses have confirmed to Dr. Osman's family and members of his house church that he was assassinated by Islamic hit men from Mogadishu's radical Islamic courts. He is survived by his wife, Zahra Ali Hassan and nine children. His wife is in hiding fearing for her life. Reuters reported in 2003, that a top leader of Kulanka Culimada, the Islamic terror group that runs the Islamic courts said: "All Somali Christians must be killed according to the Islamic Law. Such people do not have a place in Somalia and we will never recognize their existence and we will slaughter them."

Learn more about IDOP at PersecutedChurch.org, including how to get involved and stay informed.

Technorati tags: IDOP | Persecuted Church | Violence against Christians

Messianic Jews Harassed in Israel

According to this story from the ASSIST News Service, messianic Jews (who believe that Jesus Christ is the promised Messiah) are being harassed and persecuted in their home country by their fellow Jews.

Note the bolded text (emphasis mine). Doesn't Israel and its citizens have enough violence to deal with without generating more against one another?

Source: Voice of the Martyrs

Technorati tags: Persecuted Church | Messianic Jews | Christianity

Top Ten Christian Persecuters

Since 1955, Open Doors International has been providing assistance and advocacy for Christians around the world who are being persecuted, discriminated against and harrassed because of their faith. There's no such thing as a closed border or society to Open Doors; in its own words, "We go where others do not go, and do what others do not do."

The organization publishes the semi-annual "World Watch List," which ranks countries according to the level of persecution Christians face for actively pursuing their faith. In the latest list, North Korea has supplanted Saudi Arabia at the top of the list for the first time.

Laos comes in at number three. The rest of the top ten are Vietnam, Turkmenistan, Maldives, Bhutan, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Somalia. Five of the top ten countries are governed by Islamic regimes. Bhutan is predominately Buddhist, and four -- North Korea, Laos, Vietnam and Turkmenistan -- are communist-ruled.

Don't be surprised to see Saudi Arabia assert its lead once again in the future, however. According to AsiaNews, persecution of all non-Muslim religions is growing worse since the death of King Fahd.

Technorati tags: Persecuted Church | World Watch List | Christianity

Voice of the Martyrs Blog

I just learned that Voice of the Martyrs has a relatively new (since May) blog spotlighting news related to the persecution of Christians around the world.

One of today's posts reveals how a video of a church desecration and the murder of a Serbian soldier is being used as a Muslim Jihad fund-raiser. Another focuses on the growing systematic persecution of Christians in Kosovo, despite feeble attempts by the international community to intervene.

Voice of the Martyrs has long done important and hard work on behalf of Christians around the world who are persecuted simply because of their faith. It's a worthwhile ministry and I applaud their use of technology in order to raise global awareness of these situations.

Tip of the hat to Paul Chaney for making me aware of this resource. I'm adding it to my blogroll.

Technorati tags: Voice of the Martyrs | Persecuted Church | Christianity

Religious freedom in Iran?

Every now and then, a report surfaces that offers a bit of hope...a ray of sunshine...in an otherwise dark and dreary landscape. Voice of the Martyrs provides one such report in its weekly newsletter dealing with the persecution of Christians around the world.

More details on this story are available from Compass Direct.

It's not much, but hope doesn't require much to flourish.

Technorati tags: Persecuted Church | Religious Freedom | Voice of the Martyrs

Christianity in China -- Some good news?

At the risk of setting off an endless trackback loop*, I'd like to draw your attention to this post which provides further links that ultimately lead to an article in the well-regarded The Economist. That article provides some encouraging evidence that Christianity is making discernible inroads in China...on college campuses, of all places.

The Economist is a subscription-only site and so I'm unable to read the full text of the article. If anyone has access to it and would like to provide a more complete summary, I'd be happy to post it here. Keeping the Chinese Christian church in the spotlight is one way to ensure that dark-loving forces don't make inroads, IFKWIM. And if you think we no longer need to be concerned about dark forces in China, you might want to spend some time perusing one of the recently-issued reports from the UN's Human Rights Commission. There are several to choose from, but a good starting point is the Report of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention - Mission to China [download the 23 page PDF document], where we learn that China is doing everything the international community is asking, other than the minor detail of actual changing anything. Perhaps we're expecting too much; after all, if they sign the agreements and put the committees in place, and form task forces with firm instructions to issue reports, well, shouldn't that count for something?

*The above-linked blog, Kill Righty, pinged this Gazette post from a year ago dealing with the subject of the house church movement in China. At that time, there weren't a lot of good things being reported.

Technorati tag: Religious Freedom | Persecuted Church | Christianity | House Church | China

The Christian Church in China

I attended a remarkable event last night, joining hundreds of people from all denominations in our church's worship center to hear a first-hand report on the status of Christianity in mainland China.

The speaker was Peter Xu, an evangelist and activist who spent twelve years in a Chinese prison because of his faith in Jesus. Pastor Xu helped start the house church movement in China in the 60s, a movement that's becoming a tidal wave.

1949 marked the beginning of Marxism and Communism in China, as Chairman Mao came to power, and with it the denunciation of all religion, and especially Christianity. In that year, it was estimated that there were only 800,000 Christians remaining China. Today, the estimate is 80 million, a 100-fold increase. That sort of growth has placed the Church squarely in the government's crosshairs, and persecution of Christians is once again commonplace.

Pastor Xu's interpreter for the evening was Bob Fu. He is the founder and president of China Aid, a non-profit organization dedicated to the investigation of human rights abuse in China, and to advocacy of its victims. Bob has the distinction of being one of the few who have succeeded in winning a case against the government in front of the Chinese equivalent of the Supreme Court.

Pastor Xu was everything you might expect from a man who is sold out in every way to the Gospel of Jesus Christ -- humble, joyful, energized and unapologetic in his desire to achieve a very unusual goal: to take the Gospel from China to Jerusalem.

He began by thanking those present for our heritage. He gave credit to American missionaries for planting the seeds of the Gospel in China. "We are all your spiritual descendents," he stated. He then took us on a quick historical tour of Christianity in China, bringing us to the present day, where Chinese Christians, despite being persecuted by their own government, are focused on nothing less than the achievement of the Great Commission. They believe that the Lord has given the mission to the Chinese church to spread the Gospel outside the borders of China. Despite the government's efforts to stamp it out, the Chinese church is now approaching the point of being self-supporting, self-propagating and self-administering. Many university students are joining the house churches and the goal is to have Christian cells on every campus within five years.

Pastor Xu said that the vision of the Chinese church is to accomplish the Great Commission and to unite with the Western church in spreading the Gospel all over the world, and then back to Jerusalem.

He spoke about the ancient Silk Road, the collective term for the routes used more than 2,000 years ago to open up trade between China and the western world. Pastor Xu says that the Chinese Church intends to use the "Silk Road" to take the Gospel outside the Chinese borders and, ultimately, back to Jerusalem.

The Silk Road has three "fronts," and the Church is already making progress in each of them. Three years ago, China sent missionaries to Russia and Mongolia, at the northern front. The southern front goes to Thailand and Malaysia and the central front goes to Afghanistan and over to Iran and Iraq. Chinese Christians are now establishing "training stations" on these fronts, for support of the evangelistic efforts. Eventually, a prayer team will walk from China to Jerusalem.

He then brought this vision and these plans home to us. Chinese Christians need training, comfort and fellowship from the Western church. He then challenged Midland, Texas, to establish a station for the Jerusalem prayer walk. Texas can be a spiritual revival base and a "missionary sending center." He also asked us to pray for suffering brothers and sisters. (Peter's sister, Deborah, was recently released from prison, although she remains under house arrest.)

At the conclusion of Pastor Xu's remarks, he sang two Chinese hymns that expressed the desire of Chinese Christians to be "servants of the Word, servants of the Lord." The melodies were haunting and the words were simple but powerful, the worshipful cries of a people who have a faith and a hope that sustains them even when there is nothing else to grasp.

We then watched a ten-minute video of interviews with three sisters who were arrested and tortured in an attempt to make them discredit their pastor (Gong Shengliang), so he could be arrested on trumped-up rape charges. The sisters described their ordeals in graphic detail; one of them could not hold back the tears as she confessed that she could not hold up under the physical abuse and thus signed a prepared statement against her pastor.

Peter Xu and Bob Fu left today for Geneva, Switzerland, where they will show this video during the 60th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, in an attempt to secure the release of the pastor, specifically, and to highlight the increasing persecution of Chinese Christians in general. The sisters are aware of the personal danger and risk they run in releasing this video, but say they are prepared for any consequences in order to make the truth known.

And this, indeed, is an accurate summary of the status of the Church in China: it will risk any consequences to make the Truth known. What will the Western Church's response be, in the face of such faith and endurance?

IDOP: Daily Focus #7

The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) is tomorrow. In a series of posts that began last Sunday, we're providing a daily "snapshot" of the work of the primary sponsoring organizations.

For a quick review of what IDOP is all about, you can visit the IDOP website, which provides links to the 10 sponsoring organizations.

Voice of the Martyrs is an interdenominational organization headquartered in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and working with Christians around the world who are suffering religious persecution. VOM has over 30 offices around the world with staff members from many different denominations, all working with the common goal of helping the suffering church. WEA is headquartered in Edmonds, Washington.

VOM is a member of the Evangelical Council for Accountability (ECFA).

The World Evangelical Alliance
is a "global network of 7 regional and 121 national evangelical alliances, 104 organizational ministries and 6 specialized ministries serving the worldwide church." While the WEA focuses on Christians, it also works to ensure religious liberty for all faiths.

WEA is a member of the Evangelical Council for Accountability (ECFA).

IDOP: Daily Focus #6

The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) is next Sunday, November 9. In a series of posts that began last Sunday, we're providing a daily "snapshot" of the work of the primary sponsoring organizations.

For a quick review of what IDOP is all about, you can visit the IDOP website, which provides links to the 10 sponsoring organizations.

Open Doors USA is the US arm of one of the oldest (founded in 1955) and largest (23 international offices) organizations created to battle religious persecution around the world. Open Doors provides teaching and instruction to indigenous pastors and church leaders, training them to persevere amidst persecution and lead their congregations effectively.

The organization works actively in countries such as China, Vietnam, Sudan, Indonesia, Nigeria, Colombia, Israel, the West Bank, Iraq, Lebanon, and more.

Open Doors is a charter member of the Evangelical Council for Accountability (ECFA).

IDOP: Daily Focus #5

The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) is next Sunday, November 9. In a series of posts that began last Sunday, we're providing a daily "snapshot" of the work of the primary sponsoring organizations.

For a quick review of what IDOP is all about, you can visit the IDOP website, which provides links to the 10 sponsoring organizations.

Jubilee Campaign USA is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. The organization "campaigns" for the release of prisoners of conscience by informing Congressmen and Senators about atrocities. It also promotes and provides financial support for children's rights internationally.

The Jubilee Campaign's website is primarily designed to provide up-to-date news and research reports regarding instances of persecution.

IDOP: Daily Focus #4

The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) is next Sunday, November 9. In a series of posts that began last Sunday, we're providing a daily "snapshot" of the work of the primary sponsoring organizations.

For a quick review of what IDOP is all about, you can visit the IDOP website, which provides links to the 10 sponsoring organizations.

Iranian Christians International is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado. ICI ministers to the approximately 8 million Iranian and Afghan refugees living outside their countries today. It publishes Mojdeh (Good News), a bilingual (Persian/English) magazine.

ICI is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

IDOP: Daily Focus #3

The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) is next Sunday, November 9. In a series of posts that began last Sunday, we're providing a daily "snapshot" of the work of the primary sponsoring organizations.

For a quick review of what IDOP is all about, you can visit the IDOP website, which provides links to the 10 sponsoring organizations.

International Christian Concern is a non-profit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. with the following goals:

1. Providing for and training in-country Evangelists & Pastors in persecuted countries.
2. Being an advocate for the persecuted on Capitol Hill and the State Dept.
3. Delivering Humanitarian Aid & Relief.
4. Raising Awareness about the existence and severity of Christian persecution.

One of ICC's special ministries is its "Suffering Wives and Children Fund," designed to assist a murdered pastor's or other Christian's spouse and family.

ICC is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA).

IDOP 2003

Sunday, November 9, 2003 is the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church ("IDOP"). On this day, hundreds of thousands of congregations around the world will join in prayer for their Christian brothers and sisters who are being discriminated against, displaced, tortured and killed for one simple reason: their faith.

Religious persecution is certainly not a new phenomenon, and Christians aren't the only victims of such persecution. However, in terms of sheer numbers, they are undoubtedly the largest group targeted solely on the basis of religion. The IDOP website describes the situation thusly in its FAQ:

In 2001, Midland became the first host city for the national IDOP observance. Up to then, the observance had been a loosely-coordinated event taking place in various cities and churches, but without any real focus. Thanks largely to the visionary action of a few local folks — primarily Deborah Fikes (founder of BASIC Ministries International), Fr. Jon Stasney (rector of St. Nicholas' Episcopal Church) and Billy Raies (pastor of the Christian Life Center) — Midland was selected to add a new dimension...a new focus...to the observance.

I was privileged to join with a large group of volunteers working to create the framework for the IDOP observance. I saw Christians of every denomination, ethnic background and social status working together, united in concern for an extended family whose sufferings we could only begin to imagine. I've been unable to return to my previous state of complacency with respect to the Persecuted Church.

I plan to post more about IDOP over the next month, but I wanted to get it on your radar screen at this point. If you enjoy the privilege of exercising your faith in unfettered freedom, then I submit to you that you also share in the responsibility to ensure that others can do so, as well. If you can't do anything else, you can pray.

No...that's not exactly right. Before you do anything else, you should pray. IDOP resources will help you know how to do that.