AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER * HUNTED BURMESE MONKS FLEE MONASTERIES * EX LESBIAN EXHORTS CHRISTIANS TO BALANCE TRUTH & LOVE WHEN MINISTERING TO HOMOSEXUALS * NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES TESTIFY OF PERSECUTION * ISLAMIC POLICY WON'T INTIMIDATE THE GOSPEL * IRAQI PREMIER PLEDGES TO PROTECT COUNTRY'S CHRISTIAN MINORITY * AUTHORITIES CLOSE 16 STOREFRONT FORTUNE-TELLERS IN PHILADELPHIA ----------------------------------------------- HUNTED BURMESE MONKS FLEE MONASTERIES The monasteries of Myanmar used to teem with saffron-robed Buddhist monks, revered as spiritual guides and moral authorities in a country in the grip of a repressive military regime. Then the junta turned its troops on the monks, beating them in the streets for leading pro-democracy protests. They also raided their monasteries, leaving bloodstains on the floors, chasing anyone who had participated in the rallies. Now, nobody knows how many of Myanmar's more than 500,000 monks are left in their monasteries. The picture that emerges, after scores of interviews with monks, abbots and other people in Burma, is that monasteries around the country have been depleted - particularly in the biggest cities, Yangon and Mandalay, where protests were staged. Many monks have slipped over borders or are hiding in their hometowns and villages. To avoid being caught in a night-time raids on their monasteries, some stay with friends, despite Buddhist rules that forbid a monk and a lay person to sleep under the same roof. The junta has long regarded monks as a potential threat. But many say that this time, in targeting monks and monasteries, the generals went too far. In this 90 percent Buddhist country of 54 million people, monasteries are sacrosanct. At the height of the crackdown, news footage broadcast around the world showed troops firing on marching monks and smashed-up furniture at monasteries. A dead monk was shown floating face down in a river. For now, the generals appear to have succeeded in scaring monks into submission. Josef Silverstein, a retired Rutgers University professor who studied Burma for more than a half century, doesn't expect to see monks back in the front line for some time. "Religious sayings and prayers were no match for the guns and determination of the military," he said. But other experts say the monks' treatment won't be forgotten. The next wave of protests may have to be led by student leaders and political activists but monks will remain an inspiration that lends legitimacy to the movement. Source: Intercessors Network ----------------------------------------------- EX LESBIAN EXHORTS CHRISTIANS TO BALANCE TRUTH & LOVE WHEN MINISTERING TO HOMOSEXUALS Former lesbian Christine Sneeringer, director of Worthy Creations - part of Exodus International, travels around the country speaking to various churches about how to minister to homosexuals. Sneeringer is quoted as saying she feels it is a tragedy that Christians have misrepresented God's character to the homosexual community and thus alienated them from the Gospel. "It's no wonder that the average homosexual expects rejection from Christians," said Sneeringer. "There's not a homosexual in North America who doesn't know the Evangelical viewpoint on homosexuality. But do they know there's a God in Heaven who loves them and who sent a Saviour to die for them too?" She added that not all homosexuals want to be homosexual, she noted. But in a society that says it's okay to be homosexual, many don't know there's a way out. Sharing her own tormented and abused background that she feels led her into choosing a homosexual lifestyle (lesbians are often trying to protect themselves against further hurt from a man, she claims), it wasn't until she "joined a Baptist church's softball team and met Christians who did not condemn or pass judgment on her did she realize the love of Jesus Christ. The women's team never preached to her, but just loved her and prayed for her." "What have we done to offer the homosexual community an alternative?" she asked. "Often Christians think that to love a homosexual is a compromise of their Christianity, that somehow their love would be misconstrued as condoning homosexuality." The answer, she believes, is that a Christian's message must balance truth and love. "Jesus," she is quoted as saying, "accepted and loved sinners, and He loved them enough not to leave them in their sinful state but to challenge them to live a life beyond it." Source: Christian Post ----------------------------------------------- NORTH KOREAN REFUGEES TESTIFY OF PERSECUTION In the U.S. Capitol, there has recently been a push to expose the crimes of one of the world's most repressive regimes. Human rights groups want the U.S. government to hold North Korea accountable for the persecution of Christians and political dissidents. They relied on the testimony of North Koreans who have personally suffered under the policies of Kim Jong-Il. Min-Bok Lee was a North Korean scientist who thought he had a solution to the country's food shortage. But instead of being heralded a hero, he had to flee for his life. "I felt danger and was arrested," Lee said. "I spent time in prison where I was tortured." Lee is not alone. Under the dictatorship of Kim Jong-Il, millions of North Koreans have been sent to prison or died of starvation. For Christians, persecution is even worse. Every day, another North Korean Christian dies. While Phillip Lee was in a prison camp, one of his friends was martyred. "He was tortured, they broke all of his teeth and legs, but he did not deny his faith," Phillip said. "He even dared to say you should accept Jesus Christ in court, so the prosecutor said he has to be killed." "Nothing has changed in the North Korean regime, but thanks to God, He's working on the people, so it is changing the population," Min-Bok said. "God is the only solution to the problem." South Korea's churches are calling on Christians worldwide to pray for the North. Korean church leaders saying they are anguished over the spiritual darkness and suffering in the North. Source: CWNews.com ----------------------------------------------- ISLAMIC POLICY WON'T INTIMIDATE THE GOSPEL Islamic principles are governing policy-making throughout the Middle East. That's especially true of the cluster of Islamic Republics. Their hard-line, anti-Western sentiment closed doors to the Gospel. Yet, Words of Hope's Lee DeYoung cites encouraging reports from inside those restricted access areas. "We have noted through our contacts in recent weeks considerable openness in some of the most tightly-closed countries. It encourages us that Christian broadcasting into such places is effective." DeYoung says despite recent unrest, the interest in Christianity is growing. Other media ministries concur, pointing to the many Muslims who have come to Christ through Christian satellite TV and radio broadcasts. Most of these new believers are young and passionate about their faith, but out of fear of persecution they remain "secret believers" who are not connected to a church or cell group. DeYoung urges believers to "be very prayerful about protection for those who work in such circumstances in those kinds of places. The pressures against them are considerable, and the dangers are very real. To some extent, there's been an escalation of persecution, restrictions, and harassment of believers." Pray for effective church leadership and boldness of believers to continue to witness to family, friends, and neighbours. Pray also that the Lord would protect those in His service in this region. Pray that political decisions in the region will not discourage believers from praying, but rather the church would respond in love and an even greater desire to see them come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. Pray that the radio broadcasts will reach many more open hearts. Pray for believers in the Islamic Republics who are struggling with violence in their countries. Source: Intercessors Network ----------------------------------------------- IRAQI PREMIER PLEDGES TO PROTECT COUNTRY'S CHRISTIAN MINORITY Iraq's prime minister has pledged to protect and support the Christian minority that has been fleeing the chaos and sectarian violence in the country. While receiving Chaldean Patriarch of Baghdad, Emmanuel III Delly, the head of the Chaldean Church in Iraq and the world, Nouri al-Maliki in a statement affirmed his government's determination to defend the small community and to stop the outflow of Iraqi Christians. Delly has been outspoken about the need to protect minority Christians from Iraq's violence. Iraqi Christians, mostly Chaldeans have been targeted by Islamic extremists who labelled them "Crusaders," and loyal to the U.S. troops they are fighting. The Christian community in Iraq, about 3 percent of the country's 26 million people, is particularly vulnerable. It has little political or military clout to defend itself. Churches, priests and business owned by Christians have been attacked by Islamic militants. About 50 percent of Iraq's Christians are reported to have already left the country, according to a report issued by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Source: Assist News Service ----------------------------------------------- AUTHORITIES CLOSE 16 STOREFRONT FORTUNE-TELLERS IN PHILADELPHIA Philadelphia's fortune-tellers didn't see it coming. Suddenly they're facing a very unhappy future. Alerted to an obscure state law banning fortune-telling "for gain or lucre," the city's Department of Licenses and Inspections is closing storefront psychics, astrologers, phrenologists and tarot-card readers who charge money for their services. Inspectors have so far closed 16 shops. Fortune-telling for profit is a third-degree misdemeanour in Philadelphia. The law has been on the books for more than 30 years. It is not known how many shops operated in the city, but more are expected to be closed in the days ahead. Inspectors are not imposing fines, and police are not making arrests but authorities said they will if the people try to return to work. Authorities said that most so-called psychics, were not little old ladies with handkerchiefs on their heads" but clever con artists capable of stealing large sums - even life savings - from grieving or otherwise vulnerable people. Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
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