AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER * UNITED KINGDOM RELIGIOUS LIBERTY FADING FAST * CAN EGYPT PROTECT ITS COPTS * A CALL FOR PRAYER AND FASTING FOR EVENTS IN YEMEN * CITY PLANNERS NEED TO PROVIDE FOR RETURN OF TRADITIONAL FAMILIES * PRAYERS FOR ZIMBABWE AMID POLITICAL UNREST * PAKISTAN'S TALIBAN THREATENS CHRISTIAN LEADERS ----------------------------------------------- UNITED KINGDOM RELIGIOUS LIBERTY FADING FAST In England in the 1370s, John Wycliffe suffered persecution for daring to protest for biblical truth. In 1415 John Hus was burnt at the stake in Prague, Bohemia, for doing the same. On 31 October 1517 a German monk named Martin Luther risked martyrdom and worse - the Inquisition - when he launched his protest for biblical truth: Salvation by grace through faith, not by works. He sought reform but got division, and the Protestant Church was born. Religious liberty and the revival of biblical theology brought many positive consequences to the societies that embraced it. As prosperity grew so too did the rot of pride and arrogance. Before long, Protestant societies were not only forgetting God and the truths that had given them their liberty, but were rejecting God as irrelevant. William Wilberforce, though remembered primarily as an abolitionist, was passionate about Britain's need for spiritual reformation. Not only had the nation of his day largely forgotten God but its church had mostly returned to a works-based theology, believing that people merited salvation by being 'good' - and not as a consequence of being saved by grace through faith. The awakening and spiritual reform that Wilberforce launched turned the tide in the UK. But today nearly 500 years on from Luther and some 250 years on from Wilberforce, the UK is in trouble again and is desperately in need of a fresh awakening. Moreover religious liberty is fading fast. All Nations Church in South London, was recently ordered not to use its sound system for its sermons or music so as to avoid offending its Muslim neighbours. A Christian office worker, Denise Haye, was recently sacked for expressing her disapproval of homosexuality. A Deputy Registrar with Islington Borough Council, Theresa Davies, was demoted because she refused to preside over same-sex civil partnership ceremonies. A Christian nurse with 40 years' experience, Anand Rao, was sacked after he suggested to a training seminar that distressed palliative care patients could try going to church. A Christian community nurse and professional foster mother (with 80 children's-worth of experience) was recently struck off the register for failing to prevent a 16-year-old Muslim girl converting to Christianity. A Christian homelessness prevention officer with 18 years' experience, Duke Amachree, was sacked by Wandsworth Council for sharing his faith with a client who had lost hope. Rev Noble Samuel of Heston United Reformed Church, who debates Muslims on his TV Gospel program, was hijacked in his car by three Urdu-speaking assailants who grabbed him by the hair, ripped off his cross and threatened to break his legs if he continued broadcasting. These cases (all in 2009) are just the tip of the iceberg. If the Equality Bill that is now making its way through parliament passes as expected, then persecution will increase dramatically. While Christians are being silenced, Islamisation is advancing, with Islamic fundamentalists appeased at every turn by short-sighted politicians who lack political courage and hanker after political gain. While Christians are fined, sacked and sued for expressing their faith, Anjem Choudary's Islam4UK is free to pump out its radical Islamic theology all across the country. Some 5000 supporters of Islam4UK are expected to join a 'March for Sharia' from the House of Commons to Trafalgar Square on 31 October, which coincidentally is Reformation Day. As long as the various anti-Christian lobby groups can silence Christians by shutting down debate through anti-defamation, anti-vilification and anti-discrimination laws along with threats of violence, they will be on a winning trajectory with little resistance -- that is, until violent conflict erupts. Violent 'race' clashes are already on the increase. The UK is in trouble. PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY THAT: * God will greatly bless those Christians who are courageously defending gospel truths and values in the UK's courts and streets, that they will have abundant grace, wisdom and boldness from the Holy Spirit. * as Muslims 'March for Sharia' on 31 October -- Reformation Day -- British Christians will remember the courage of Martin Luther and be motivated by the heritage they have in Wycliffe, Ridley, Wilberforce, Carey and others. * revival will come to the UK Church so that the nation's Christians will step out boldly with gospel truths and values, being prepared to suffer and, in Wilberforce's words, 'be wholly indebted' to the God of grace for everything. Source: by Elizabeth Kendal, Religious Liberty Prayer Bulletin ----------------------------------------------- CAN EGYPT PROTECT IT'S COPTS Empty churches are not a problem for Egypt's Christian community. In fact, overcrowding is more of an issue. Part of the reason for this is that, like their Muslim compatriots, Copts are becoming outwardly more religious. But they have to jump through bureaucratic hoops in order to secure a permit to construct new churches or even to repair existing ones. To redress an issue that has long been a sore point, a coalition of 36 Egyptian human rights groups are lobbying for the introduction of a unified building law for places of worship. The campaign is unlikely to go down well with Islamists who hold a conviction that Copts are wealthier and more privileged than Muslims and are out to Christianise Egypt. Aside from their religions, Copts and Muslims are ethnically and culturally indistinguishable, since most Egyptian Muslims were once Christian. This is what makes the deteriorating position of the Copts and the worsening relations between the two religious communities so troubling for those millions of Egyptian Muslims and Christians who still enjoy cordial relations. Many look back with nostalgia to when people were Egyptian before anything else, and whose symbol was a green banner bearing both a cross and a crescent. The state has lived in denial of the problem, which it has contributed to with its recent ham-fisted attempts, in order to appease the growing conservative Islamic current, to juggle the conflicting roles of champion of secularism and defender of Islam. Many Egyptian's are growing tired of regular clashes between Muslims and Copts – which flare up sporadically, often fuelled by rumours of conversions and intermarriage. Unless these tensions can be brought under control by the Government riots between Muslims and Copts could become part of life in Egypt in times to come. A good first step to ease tensions and to show that faith is a private matter would be to remove religion from ID cards. Source: The Guardian ----------------------------------------------- A CALL FOR PRAYER AND FASTING FOR EVENTS IN YEMEN On June 12, 2009 six expatriates from three nations working at a Hospital in Saada, Yemen went missing together with three children. A few days later three of them were found dead, one Korean school-teacher and two German medical interns. The parents with their three children plus their colleague are still missing. So far no one has come forward claiming to have done this. Likewise we do not have proof that the missing ones are alive. The authorities investigating this case are faced with a wall of silence and much of this is a riddle to those who know Yemen and its people. The families of those killed mourn, and the relatives and friends of the missing live between hope and despair. The much needed work in the Saada hospital has had to be severely reduced – much to the regret of the population. The war between government troops and rebels in the area continues and causes much suffering. In the light of these extraordinary and far-reaching events the leaders of Christian agencies operating in Yemen have called on all Christians to pray and, if possible, to fast on Reformation Day (October 31st, 2009). Please pray: * for the protection and freeing of the missing – especially the children. If they are already in God’s eternity, may the light of God shine into the situation and may truth may come to light. Pray also for those who took these people, that they will be convicted in their conscience, let any they may still be holding go, and find peace and salvation in Jesus. * for comfort and grace for the families of the three women who were killed and of the six who are still missing. * for the national and international staff of the hospital in Saada, now scattered, who need comfort and who are full of questions about their future. Source: Frontiers ----------------------------------------------- CITY PLANNERS NEED TO PROVIDE FOR RETURN OF TRADITIONAL FAMILIES Chapman University Residential Fellow, Joel Kotkin, asserts that despite the modern assault on families through divorce, broken homes, etc., families provide the most reliable foundation for successful economies. As such, leaders need to take notice. Kotkin uses city planners as examples, saying that for the last decade they have projected the future based on their perception of "yuspies" -young urban single professionals. The problem is, such endeavours have not proven to be successful. Why? Because, contrary to those who claimed marriage was on the "verge of extinction," the opposite holds true. Indeed, demographer Bill Frey is quoted as saying that the number of married couples with children has actually been on the rise after decades of decline. Notes Kotkin: "The family's enduring supremacy is also apparent in the attitudes of young people, the so-called millennials. As Morley Winograd and Michael Hais suggest in their upcoming book, 'Millennial Mainstream,' this new generation is twice as numerous as Generation X, and far more family-oriented. They display markedly less proclivity for teen pregnancy, abortion and juvenile crime. They also tend to have more favourable relations with their parents, with half staying in daily touch and almost all in weekly contact." In conclusion, Kotkin believes that developers must look at urban centres with an eye toward raising healthy families. "Such a shift in emphasis could mark a new beginning for many long-neglected urban neighbourhoods across the country," he notes. "It's time to recognize that families still provide the most reliable foundation for successul economies." Source: Wall Street Journal ----------------------------------------------- PRAYERS FOR ZIMBABWE AMID POLITICAL UNREST Church leaders in Zimbabwe have convened for urgent prayers amid fresh political unrest between the country's shared leadership. Political tensions have again mounted in Zimbabwe after Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) opposition leader and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai partially withdrew from the unity government. Christians now fear that violent riots could erupt after Tsvangirai failed to show up to a recent cabinet meeting with Zanu PF leader President Robert Mugabe. The tense political situation had come as a blow to Christians, who have been praying for the country's leaders to cooperate and bring Zimbabwe out of its longstanding suffering. Everyone is really worried about what this means and are scared. One Christian said "We think this tension will create a lot of trouble. It will have a knock on effect on the economy and this sort of thing causes violence and riots. "The churches are having prayers to heal the nation. They are saying: "God where are you now? We need you." This is a blow that will really bring the people of Zimbabwe down." Tsvangirai has reportedly refused to rejoin government talks until all outstanding issues in the power sharing agreement have been addressed. According to reports from the state-run Zimbabwe Herald he left the country without Cabinet authority on a 10-day tour of southern Africa to canvass support for his partial withdrawal from the government. He is due back in Zimbabwe on 29 October. Source: Council for World Mission News ----------------------------------------------- PAKISTAN'S TALIBAN THREATENS CHRISTIAN LEADERS The Taliban is directly threatening believers in north-eastern Pakistan's Punjab province. Jonathon Racho with International Christian Concern (ICC) says they've learned that on October 6, members of the Taliban sent threatening letters in Sargodha, Pakistan, warning Christian leaders to convert to Islam or face dire consequences. A copy of the letter obtained by ICC warns Christians to convert to Islam, pay Jizya tax (an Islamic tax imposed on religious minorities), or leave the country. Racho says the letter warns, "If the Christians do not do any of the three, then they will be killed, their property and homes will be burned to ashes, and their women will be treated as sex slaves. And they themselves would be responsible for this." Several clergy and a number of Christian institutions including schools and hospitals each received a copy of the threatening letter. Racho says Christians in Pakistan are soft targets for attacks by Islamic extremists. In the last four months, Muslims have killed 12 Christians because of their faith. Racho goes on to say that it's likely to get worse before it gets better. "In Pakistan, many Christians are suffering because of the surge in activity by the Taliban, and the Christians are killed simply because of their faith in Christ. We're afraid that these attacks on Christians will continue to grow in the coming days." Pray for believers to remain bold in Christ. Source: Mission Network News
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