AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER * CHINA : OPEN TO TRADE BUT NOT TO LIBERTY * SAUDI CLERIC SEES UNITED STATES COLLAPSING AND A MUSLIM VICTORY * MASSIVE PRAYER MEETING IN NORTH-AFRICAN DESERT * THE MIGHTY MOVEMENT OF GOD IN CHINA * EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA REJECTS OPENLY HOMOSEXUAL CONDIDATES * AMERICAN BAPTISTS SPLIT OVER HOMOSEXUALITY ----------------------------------------------- CHINA : OPEN TO TRADE BUT NOT TO LIBERTY While the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is opening China up economically to become wealthy and powerful, it keeps control by suppressing everything that could generate political dissatisfaction. A recent news release from China Aid Association (CAA) reports persecution of Protestant house-churches in China has intensified. There were at least 1317 confirmed arrests of house-church pastors, leaders and believers between February and December 2005. Amongst those arrested were 17 foreign missionaries. CAA reports most were released after being interrogated anything between 24 hours and several months. Foreigners were then ordered to leave the country. CAA also confirmed reports of arrested believers being tortured, as well as coercion of evidence through drugging. China has a vast network of some 1100 'reform through labour' prison camps. They were set up in the 1950s by Chairman Mao with Russian assistance. China Aid Association says that prisoners are forced to work more than 10 hours a day producing commercial 'Made in China' handbags in one such prison camp. House-church senior patriarch Zhang Rongliang (55) was arrested by Henan police on 1 December 2004. Imprisoned and tortured many times, Zhang suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure and his health is deteriorating. One witness claims they had seen Zhang handcuffed and chained to his bed. Another imprisoned senior house-church leader is Pastor Gong Shangliang. He was sentenced to death in December 2001 for running an 'evil cult'. After an international outcry he was re-tried in October 2002, only this time several church women were tortured into signing 'evidence' against him. One woman who refused to sign, Yu Zhongju, was beaten to death. The women later retracted their testimonies and were sent to a prison camp, whilst Pastor Gong was sentenced to life in prison as a convicted rapist. His health has deteriorated markedly, with a particularly savage beating in May 2003 leaving him close to death. Over the past five years Pastor Gong (51) has become a frail, white-haired old man. A petition on his behalf has been submitted to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and his family and legal representatives have filed an appeal for medical parole. Amidst this, there is real agitation for change in China: from the rural countryside to the city, from the farmer to the intellectual,and even within the CCP itself. PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT: * God will raise up leaders who will govern China according to godly standards with wisdom, equity, honesty, justice and liberty; pray especially for President Hu Jintao. * God will deliver Pastors Gong Shengliang and Zhang Rongliang from terrible injustice and abuse, sustain and relieve them in their suffering, protect and strengthen their bodies and souls, and care for their families. * the pastors may know and experience the presence and love of Christ, and the comfort of the Holy Spirit. * the Spirit of God will continue His great work in China, opening people's hearts, minds, ears and eyes, and opening the nation to His gospel and for His service. Source: World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission ----------------------------------------------- SAUDI CLERIC SEES UNITED STATES COLLAPSING AND A MUSLIM VICTORY Sheik Nasser bin Suleiman Al-Omar said in remarks broadcast on the Arab satellite network Al-Jazeera recently "The Islamic nation now faces a great phase of jihad". The sheik said, "Whoever is familiar with the Sunna and the Hadith knows that a battle against the enemies of Allah awaits on the horizon, in which the Muslims will be victorious. Jihad is now taking place in Afghanistan, "Palestine," Iraq, Chechnya, Kashmir and the Philippines, he said. Meanwhile, the sheik asserted to his audience, love for America is "now disappearing from the hearts, within America itself and elsewhere, whereas Islam is growing even within America." "Islam is making steady progress in America," Al-Omar said. "Twenty-five thousand people have converted to Islam every year since 9-11, and an even larger figure was mentioned in the New York Times." The sheik cited a report "prepared by American intelligence saying Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world and Muslims soon will become one-third of the world's population. The sheik added: "There is no doubt that it is Islam that will bring peace, and not the U.N., America, Russia, or anyone else." Turning to Iraq, Al-Omar said that with its casualties, "America is now in a predicament." "You follow the media. America is looking for a way out," he said. "Yes, I am aware of the harsh reality. I am aware of what is happening to our Muslim brothers in Iraq, and I'm referring especially to the Sunni Arabs, against whom all have conspired and who have been deserted by their closest friends." The sheik claimed American reports of the number of casualties in Iraq, about 2,000, are false. He cited "one of the news agencies" and "several of Iraq's religious scholars" who claim there have been more than 40,000 American and Western casualties in three years. Al-Omar claimed Americans are dumping their casualties in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Al-Omar said the "Islamic nation now faces a great phase of jihad, unlike anything we knew 50 years ago." Fifty years ago, jihad was attributed only to a few individuals in Palestine, and in some other Muslims areas, he said, but "following the events of Afghanistan, the nation has embraced jihad. Young and old, men and women - everyone is talking about jihad." Islam is "advancing according to a steady plan," the sheik said, "to the point that tens of thousands of Muslims have joined the American army and Islam is the second largest religion in America." "Today," he said, "America is defeated. I have no doubt, not even for a minute, that America is on its way to destruction." But the United States "will be destroyed gradually," he said, requiring Muslims to be "patient." Source: WorldNetDaily.com ----------------------------------------------- MASSIVE PRAYER MEETING IN NORTH-AFRICAN DESERT Last month around 5,000 believers from more than 20 nations in the Middle East gathered in a huge tent in the desert to pray for several days. Via live internet streaming they were joined by at least 45,000 others from elsewhere in the region. The International Prayer Council (IPC) reports that the Middle East Prayer Network, host of the event, is gaining great momentum. "We prayed at the same place where the Desert Fathers lived and prayed in the 4th-5th centuries," one of IPC leaders reports. "We asked the Lord to bring His healing and reconciliation to conflicts in the region, not only Iraq and the Arab-Israeli conflict, but also for Darfur in western Sudan and the northern Uganda struggle with the LRA rebels. It was a vibrant, marvellous time, full of passionate prayer, singing and lots of enthusiastic worship in spite of the heat. We were thrilled to see such a strong prayer movement develop and spread in the region. In the host country this even unites all 17 denominations, including Catholics and Orthodox! Source: International Prayer Council ----------------------------------------------- THE MIGHTY MOVEMENT OF GOD IN CHINA China is poised to become a major missionary sending force in the next few decades in spite of the tragedies that have occurred in the past and at the present time. Many people say that because of these seeming tragedies and persecution the church is exploding and doing great exploits for God. In 1900, the year of the infamous Boxer Rebellion, almost 300 missionaries were killed along with 30,000 Chinese believers. That seeming tragedy was turned into great blessing as one year later more than 500,000 Chinese had turned to Christ. The Communist takeover in 1949, likewise seemed to spell the end of Christianity in China, and for a couple of decades, little was heard about the state of the church. Then, suddenly the door creaked open once again, and to the amazement of the world, the church was discovered to be alive and well. Forced to close their church doors, the believers went underground and clandestine house churches sprung up everywhere. Today, it is estimated that 7% of the population is Christian and growing so rapidly that some have predicted that in a couple of decades, 30% of the population could be Christian. Source: China Clippings ----------------------------------------------- EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA REJECTS OPENLY HOMOSEXUAL CONDIDATES The Episcopal Diocese of California averted another church-wide showdown over the role of homosexuals in their denomination when delegates rejected three openly gay candidates for bishop recently. None of the homosexual candidates received more than a handful of votes. The packed Grace Cathedral erupted with cheers and applause when the announcement was made.The vote was closely watched by Episcopalians across the nation and their fellow Anglicans worldwide. The church has been struggling to remain unified despite deep differences over homosexual clergy. The 77 million-member Anglican Communion, represented in the United States by the Episcopal Church, is still reeling from the 2003 election of the first openly homosexual Episcopal bishop, Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Some observers predicted the Californians would elect a second gay bishop to force the church to resolve its position on gay clergy. Episcopalians differ over whether the Bible permits ordaining gays but agreed that choosing a second leader in a same-sex relationship would severely damage the global church. In 2004, Anglican leaders trying to keep the church from splitting asked the U.S. church for a temporary moratorium on electing homosexual bishops. Those supporting a greater role for homosexuals and lesbians say it is unfair to ask them to wait and question whether any reconciliation can occur when opposing sides have such conflicting views of Scripture. Source: Assist News Service ----------------------------------------------- AMERICAN BAPTISTS SPLIT OVER HOMOSEXUALITY The American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest have severed ties with the national denomination, concluding a year long battle over the theological interpretation of homosexuality. The Board of Directors of the Pacific Southwest's 300 churches voted unanimously to withdraw from the American Baptist Church, USA. Divisions over homosexuality have threatened the unity of the 1.4 million-member American Baptists for years. The denomination's self-definition says American Baptists are believers "who submit to the teaching of Scripture that God's design for sexual intimacy places it within the context of marriage between one man and one woman, and acknowledge that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with biblical teaching." However, the Churches in the Pacific Southwest claim the national church has failed to discipline congregations that violated denominational law by blessing homosexual unions and ordaining openly homosexual ministers, sparking the current split. Source: Christian Post Have you visited our Web Site? http://www.ausprayernet.org.au/ You can print this e-mail with formating at the following web-address: http://www.ausprayernet.org.au/newsletter/PrintNewsletter.php?e_id=00000001072
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