June 10, 2008 * EXAGGERATED CONVERT FIGURES COULD COST LIVES * CHINESE CHRISTIANS MAKING IMPACT IN EARTHQUAKE AREA * MOBILIZING INTERCESSION AGAINST ANTI-FOREIGNER VIOLENCE * CHINA: OLYMPIC GLARE EXPOSES RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ISSUES * BISHOP SAYS COLLAPSE OF CHRISTIANITY IS WRECKING BRITISH SOCIETY * MUGABE WILL NEVER STEP ASIDE FOR TSVANGIRAI ----------------------------------------------- EXAGGERATED CONVERT FIGURES COULD COST LIVES Converts from Islam to Christianity are increasingly concerned about reports in recent months which have cited astounding statistics on conversion. It is true, and a matter for thankfulness to God, that more Muslims are coming to Christ now than at any time in history. However, they are not converting on the vast scale alleged in some reports. These reports, often initiated by non-Christians and then circulated by Christians, are a matter of grave concern as lives are being endangered by the publicity given to the exaggerated figures. Muslims view apostasy from Islam as bringing shame and humiliation on the Muslim community. Publicising that there are large numbers of converts deepens the shame and loss of face. Many Muslims believe that shame is best removed by the shedding of blood and may therefore set out to kill not only the converts themselves, but also those seeking to evangelise Muslims, whether national evangelists or Western missionaries. Some may go even further and seek to get revenge and restore the honour of Islam by attacking any available target they associate with the "Christian" West. Why would someone exaggerate the number of converts? Sometimes it is an innocent miscalculation when making estimates where there can be no firm figures. Another innocent mistake comes from cross-cultural missionaries misinterpreting phenomena which they see. For example, an "altar call" in some African contexts may result in 1,000 people "going forward". Those from Western cultures may interpret this as 1,000 people deciding to give their lives to Christ. But in the local culture, many people will simply have gone forward because they saw others doing so. Other reasons are less innocent. During the reign of the Taliban, a report circulated of huge numbers of Afghan Muslims converting to Christianity. This originated from an Afghan refugee who had been dismissed from his job with a Western NGO for dishonesty. He told a newspaper that large numbers of Muslims had become Christians. The message was circulated around the world by delighted Christians. It however turned the Afghan government against Christian NGOs, thus creating danger for genuine Afghan converts and increased risk for all Westerners. A story that six million African Muslims are becoming Christians every year resulted from claims made by Sheikh Ahmad al Katani of Libya in a televised interview shown by Al-Jazeera. The sheikh's aim was to alarm Muslim viewers in order to persuade them to give more generously to Islamic missionary efforts in Africa. There has also been a very strong anti-evangelism move within Islam, aimed at preventing Christian mission work amongst Muslims. By citing large numbers of converts to Christianity, Muslims inflame Muslim public opinion against Christian evangelism. Sadly, there are also examples of Christians deliberately circulating inflated figures of converts. These are usually Western organisations whose financial support depends on the enthusiasm of Christians in their home countries. It is presumably because of this that some have claimed absurdly high numbers of converts. Such figures soon become public and again inflame Muslim sensibilities. The present "numbers game" is proving deadly. The quoting of provocative numbers in the Western media is not welcomed by converts. Source: Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, International Director, Barnabas Fund ----------------------------------------------- CHINESE CHRISTIANS MAKING IMPACT IN EARTHQUAKE AREA The following is a portion of an interview with Open Doors Director of China Training (his name is not given due to security issues). He talks about the devastating earthquake which hit China on May 12, and how Christians are making an impact physically and spiritually during relief efforts. (The earthquake left 69,000 dead, 18,000 missing and 5 million homeless.) After your trip to Chengdu, China, can you describe what you saw when you were there? The devastation of what has happened to these people is extremely difficult to describe. We do not know how many Christians died, but many did survive. One group of Believers were praying in an old building that day. Logically, when the earthquake hit the area, this building should have gone down. But the old building survived with all the Christians safe inside while other seemingly stronger buildings collapsed. One Believer who did not attend the prayer meeting that day but went to sell vegetables at the market was crushed to death when the market building collapsed. The buildings of three churches we work with are damaged so badly they will need to be rebuilt. However, we also saw the hand of God at work among the believers from the first day - Christians were purchasing medicine, water and food to go to the areas which were missed by the government trucks and cars. Without exception these Christians were witnessing to survivors about eternal hope and salvation. People were extremely touched that others would come and provide for their needs. These churches will continue to follow up for many weeks and months to come. So there are more possibilities to evangelize today than there were before? Yes, Sichuan is a poor province and churches are not very strong. Pastors struggle with poor surroundings and hilly roads when they make their rounds. But the earthquake may have changed all that. People suddenly became aware of the importance of death and people are more willing to listen. At the same time, Christians can go to witness to them.We also went to hospitals and were quite surprised - things are quite open. The leaders wanted people to visit, not only to identify their own family members, but to encourage and comfort those traumatized patients. Christians from elsewhere in China, then, are going to help in the devastated area? Groups we work with in other cities are forming groups of volunteer helpers. One group has 17, another has 30, including nurses and doctors, who are raising funds for their own transportation and also bringing extremely generous donations. They are not only going for a few weeks, they are going to stay there long-term so they can truly express the love of God to these people who are suffering so much. In the meantime the International Herald Tribune reports that those parents who lost a child in the earthquake will be allowed to have another child. Normally, China's government only permits one child per couple, with the one-child policy. To lose a child however is to lose everything for Chinese parents. A child is their only hope. Source: Open Doors ----------------------------------------------- MOBILIZING INTERCESSION AGAINST ANTI-FOREIGNER VIOLENCE South African Intercessors are asking the world to join them in prayer regarding the recent violence against immigrants from other African states. They believe this conflict is not just a simple conflict between Black South Africans and immigrants from African states but that there is much more behind this than meets the eye. Significant issues underlying the violence are: 1. Poverty. Poverty is real in South Africa. There have recently been massive price hikes in basic foodstuffs. People have to eat, and what they see is that these non-South African Blacks who live amongst them have a higher standard of living. Many of these people come to S.A. as "refugees" yet they have money to open shops and even buy houses from local people who they then evict. South Africans also feel that these people take work away from them as they do not belong to trade unions and are even prepared to work for lower wages. 2. Drugs. Some of the "refugees" have brought crime and drugs to a new level in the Black and Coloured townships. Some of the houses bought, (as mentioned above) then become drug distribution centres, and the men entice the young girls into relationships with them, due to the money which they have. It is therefore not a pure race issue, but rather what these people have brought with them and the impact it is having on the locals. 3. An Islamic influence Many of these African immigrants are Muslim, and they have brought a strong Islamic presence into the black and coloured communities which in turn has brought unrest as religious cultures clash. Please pray: 1. That the church will show compassion towards these people who are being displaced, (some have been brutally murdered). 2. That the church will start reaching out to these foreigners. Very little has been done to evangelise them although some come from unreached people groups - for example the Wolofs from West Africa. 3. That the church will really start to reach out to the poor and will realise the power the Gospel has in addressing poverty through the restoration of broken lives. More than 60 immigrants from other countries have been killed and almost 700 injured in the recent violence. More than 1,300 persons have been arrested. Several churches are housing persons displaced by the violence. Migrant workers from Somalia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Ghana, Uganda, and the Cape Verde islands, have been among those attacked. An estimated 50,000 migrants from Zimbabwe and Mozambique have left the country due to violence. Source: Intercessors Network --------------------------------------- CHINA: OLYMPIC GLARE EXPOSES RELIGIOUS FREEDOM ISSUES When the International Olympic Committee in July 2001 awarded China the right to host the 2008 Summer Olympics, Chinese citizens were ecstatic. But what potentially could have been China's proudest moment has turned into something of a public relations minefield as world media probe China's human rights gains and abuses. Among key issues raised is religious freedom, with China watchers reporting ongoing restrictions on freedom of worship, particularly for unregistered church groups, arrests, detention in labour camps and confiscation of Christian literature. Hosting the Olympic Games provides China with a unique opportunity to showcase its stunning economic development. But the government also fears it will be a prime opportunity for dissidents and human rights activists to present their cause to the world media. Chinese citizens can now choose their own careers, travel abroad, own a car and establish a business. But Christians cannot legally hold a prayer meeting in a private home, share a church service with foreign Christians or interact with foreign Christian organizations. Many Chinese Christians see little good coming from the Olympics in the way of religious liberty. Some point to a recent government crackdown on unregistered house churches, and an unprecedented expulsion of foreign missionaries in 2007 as part of a "clean-up" in preparation for the Games. Others fear religious persecution will increase after the Games as the world's media moves on from China. The worse may be yet to come; sources are predicting a severe crackdown on all unregistered house churches beginning on June 1. Authorities are also closely guarding bishops in the official Catholic Patriotic Association (CPA) and keeping underground bishops in forced isolation. China has consistently denied the absolute authority of the Pope over Roman Catholicism, appointing its own bishops and encouraging Chinese Catholics to maintain greater loyalty to the Chinese government. The country officially recognizes five religions - Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Islam and Taoism. An official patriotic association for each religion controls adherents' activities and governs the appointment of clergy. The Religious Liberty Partnership (RLP), a coalition of groups working for global religious liberty, is encouraging Christians around the world to pray for the Chinese church in the lead-up to the Olympics. They acknowledge advances in religious freedom in China over the past 40 years but have called on the Chinese government to honour its recent declaration that believers have an important role to play in the development of society. "We hope and pray this declaration will bring an end to serious violations of religious freedom," the RLP said in its statement. Source: Intercessors Network ----------------------------------------------- BISHOP SAYS COLLAPSE OF CHRISTIANITY IS WRECKING BRITISH SOCIETY Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali claims radical Islam is filling the moral vacuum left by the decline in Christianity. He said "It has destroyed family life and left the country defenceless against the rise of radical Islam". The Pakistani born Anglican Bishop of Rochester, said the country was mired in a doctrine of 'endless self-indulgence' that had resulted in an explosion in public violence and binge-drinking. He also said the ' newfangled and insecurely founded' doctrine of multiculturalism has left immigrant communities 'segregated, living parallel lives'. He mocked the 'scramblings and scratchings' of politicians who try to cast new British values such as respect and tolerance. He warned that values not founded on Christianity would not produce the same fruit. 'Instead of Christian virtues of humility, service and sacrifice, there may be honour, piety, the saving of face, etc'. He dated the downfall of Christianity from the 'social and sexual revolution' of the 1960s. He said Church leaders had capitulated to Marxist revolutionary thinking and blamed the loss of 'faith and piety among women' for the steep decline in Christian worship. Dr Nazir-Ali said "In the place of Christianity there was nothing 'except perhaps endless self-indulgence'. The bishop said the consequences were 'the destruction of the family, the loss of a father figure, especially for boys, the abuse of substances (including alcohol), the loss of respect for the person leading to horrendous and mindless attacks, the increasing communications gap between generations and social classes - the list is very long.' Dr Nazir-Ali is one of the bishops called on by the Prince of Wales to give advice on Islam. However, he does not share the prince's enthusiasm for Islamic values and has warned Charles to give up his hope of being 'defender of faiths' because of the incompatibility of different beliefs. He has also called on officialdom to remove veils from Muslim women for security reasons and has condemned Islamic states that maintain the death penalty for apostasy. His outspokenness has put him in the vanguard of opposition to hardline Islamism. Source: UK Daily Mail ----------------------------------------------- MUGABE WILL NEVER STEP ASIDE FOR TSVANGIRAI President Mugabe will never vacate his office for opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai even if he loses a run-off election next month, his wife, Grace Mugabe has said. She said that Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) would not be allowed to take power under any circumstance. "Even if people vote for the MDC, he will never step foot inside the State House," she said. "He will only get to hear about what it looks like inside from people who have been there. Even if Mugabe loses, he will only make way for someone from his own ZANU-PF. party" The 84-year-old president, who has ruled the former British colony since independence in 1980, is to square off against Tsvangirai on June 27 after an inconclusive first round. Tsvangirai fell just short of an outright majority on March 29 needed to avoid a run-off, although the MDC wrested control of parliament from ZANU-PF in a poll that took place at the same time. Grace Mugabe, 40 years Mugabe's junior, accompanied her husband to the rural area of Shamva, north-east of Harare, for a tour of a homestead which was allegedly burned down by MDC followers. While Mugabe has laid the blame for post-election violence at the feet of the MDC, the United Nations and human rights groups say that ZANU-PF has been responsible for the lion's share. The MDC says more than 50 of its supporters have been killed by pro-Mugabe militias since March 29, and tens of thousands displaced, as part of a campaign of intimidation designed to ensure victory for victory for Mugabe on June 27. Source: Compiled by APN from various sources
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