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Church Leaders Protecting their Property Arrested in Sudan

11/30/2014

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Police in Sudan Arrest Church Leaders for Refusing to Surrender Worship Property
Authorities who bulldozed part of compound disperse worshippers.

November 25, 2014

By Our Sudan Correspondent
Leave a Comment

JUBA, South Sudan

Morning Star News

Police and security personnel today dispersed a congregation keeping vigil over its disputed property in North Khartoum, Sudan, and arrested five church leaders, sources said.

Authorities arrived at noon at the compound of the Khartoum Bahri Evangelical Church, where last week they demolished a pastor’s house and church wall, and threatened to arrest members of the congregation camped out on the site of the destroyed house as the Christians prayed and worshipped, a church source told Morning Star News.

Five church leaders were arrested for refusing to surrender the property as they encouraged the church to remain vigilant – the Rev. Daud Fadul, elder Fathi Hakim, elder Nouh Manzoul, deacon Iman Hamid and Tilal Mafishi. The leaders of the Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SPEC)-affiliated congregation were taken to Khartoum North Police Station, the source said.

“Police present can still be seen surrounding Bahri Evangelical Church,” he said.

Another member added, “The whole church since last week has been camping in this place to prevent church property from destruction.”

Church members and other Christians who have been gathering at the site urged President Omar al-Bashir to stop targeting church property.

A sign in front of the church read, “We urge president of the Republic to urgently intervene and stop targeting church property.” Police removed it today as they entered the compound.

After a bulldozer accompanied by security personnel and police knocked down a wall of the church and houses on Nov. 17-18, the Christians formed a human barrier to face down further demolition attempts on Wednesday and Thursday (Nov. 19-20).

One of the homes destroyed in the compound belonged to Nile Theological College; a Christian doctor had rented it, and he lost all his belongings, sources said.

The bulldozer, accompanied by National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) personnel and police, carried out the demolitions based on a court order demanding that church leaders surrender the premises to Muslim businessman Khalid Mustafa. A church committee of members that the Sudanese government interposed made a secret agreement with Mustafa to sell him church property as part of Sudan’s campaign to do away with Christianity in the country, church leaders said.

Church members regard the committee that arranged the transfer of the property to business interests as a “government puppet committee” supporting the government agenda to do away with Christianity.

After the Nov. 17 demolitions, church leaders filed a court complaint the next day and were told they would have to wait until Dec. 4 to have their grievances heard.

The next day authorities destroyed the home of pastor Hafiz Fasaha at the SPEC church compound after ordering personnel inside to leave the premises, church leaders said. Authorities told the Christians a Muslim businessman owned the land and that they had a court order calling for the use of force to take over the property.

On Wednesday (Nov. 19) at 2 p.m., police arrived at the church compound with another court order, this one requiring the removal of all property inside the main pastor’s house and the removal of all padlocks to allow the businessman to install his own padlock. After a lengthy discussion between police and church leaders, boisterous young men from the church arrived ready to defend the building.

With church women wailing and screaming, police decided to leave, saying they would return later. Church leaders called on members to remain vigilant, and when authorities returned with a bulldozer at 2 a.m. on Thursday (Nov. 20), they encountered hundreds of church members who made a human shield that prevented the demolition.

While the church blames the government for the court order that it surrender the property, a representative of the Muslim businessman laying claim to it has said a contract was signed about four years ago giving him the right to invest in the land for a period of up to 20 years. The representative asserts that because of church opposition he had to go to the government to take the land by force.

Church leaders hold ownership papers to the property and believe any contract surrendering it comes from a government ruse. On Oct. 5, 2013, Sudan’s police and security forces broke through the church fence, beat and arrested Christians in the compound and asserted parts of the property belonged to a Muslim investor accompanying them.

As Muslims nearby shouted, “Allahu Akbar [God is greater],” plainclothes police and personnel from NISS broke onto the property aboard a truck and two Land Cruisers. After beating several Christians who were in the compound, they arrested some of them, including Pastor Fadul; they were all released later that day.

Authorities asserted that another Muslim businessman, Hisham Hamada El-Neel, had signed a contract giving him a right to invest in land. Church members were not told who gave him the contract, and they suspected the government was behind the move.

Harassment, arrests and persecution of Christians have intensified since the secession of South Sudan, when Bashir vowed to adopt a stricter version of sharia (Islamic law) and recognize only Islamic culture and the Arabic language.

On June 30 authorities in North Khartoum demolished another church building, just a day after giving verbal notice during the congregation’s worship service, sources said. Bulldozers demolished the Sudanese Church of Christ in the Thiba Al Hamyida area of the city as church members watched, with security personnel threatening to arrest them if they tried to block their efforts, church members said.

On Aug. 24 another Christian property, the Khartoum Christian Center housing the Sudan Pentecostal Church, was closed down. Church leadership said an Islamic Facebook page indicated the church should be closed because it was winning many Muslims to Christ.

On Feb. 17, bulldozers accompanied by local police and personnel from the NISS destroyed the Sudanese Church of Christ building in the Ombada area of Omdurman, across the River Nile from Khartoum, without any advance notice.

Officials gave no reason for the demolition except that, as it was located in a “Muslim area,” the 300-member church was not wanted there, a church member said. Another source, a church leader, confirmed to Morning Star News that authorities destroyed the building and confiscated the land without warning. The orders came from the Ombada locality, or city council, sources said.

Following the secession of South Sudan in July 2011, Sudan since 2012 has expelled foreign Christians and bulldozed church buildings on the pretext that they belonged to South Sudanese. Besides raiding Christian bookstores and arresting Christians, authorities threatened to kill South Sudanese Christians who do not leave or cooperate with them in their effort to find other Christians (see Morning Star News).

Due to its treatment of Christians and other human rights violations, Sudan has been designated a Country of Particular Concern by the U.S. State Department since 1999, and in April 2013, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) recommended the country remain on the list.

If you or your organization would like to help enable Morning Star News to continue raising awareness of persecuted Christians worldwide with original-content reporting, please consider collaborating at http://morningstarnews.org/donate/? 

###

© 2014 Morning Star News. Articles/photos may be reprinted with credit to Morning Star News.  

Morning Star News is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that relies solely on contributions to offer original news reports of persecuted Christians. By providing reliable news on the suffering church, Morning Star News’ mission is to empower those in the free world to help and to encourage persecuted Christians that they are not forgotten or alone. For free subscription or to make tax-deductible donations, contact [email protected], or send check to Morning Star News, 24310 Moulton Parkway, Suite O # 157, Laguna Hills, CA 92637, USA.

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I Didn't Exist...

11/30/2014

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"The pastor of a Sacramento megachurch had already raised the money he sought for a program to provide food and shelter to the homeless. But Rick Cole, who began the fundraiser with a stunt where he would live on the streets, couldn't leave after only a few days. So, he spent the next two weeks living life as the homeless do — and the experience opened his eyes. "'I've walked past people that stay in some of the places of homelessness. And really almost not even noticed them, not considered their plight and what's going on in their life. Now I was living among them," Cole told NBC News.

"Unrecognized by his new neighbors, the 57-year-old pastor spent his days looking for food and worrying about where he'd sleep at night. He didn't preach he didn't proselytize. He just listened. "I think I began to experience how people ignore others. I became the one ignored. People walked by me like I didn't exist...'"

Pastor's Stint on the Street Opens Eyes to Plight of Homeless
by Harry Smith
NBC News


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Danger Ahead

11/28/2014

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Click Link to Watch Video

"Columnist and author James Tonkowich talks about recent attacks on religious freedom in America and what we can do to protect ourselves from those who would do away with our most fundamental liberties."

Are We in Danger of Losing Our Religious Freedom?
Posted by Stephen McGarvey
at Crosswalk
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Iranian Christians Denied Legal Counsel

11/28/2014

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Pastor Behnam Irani






Lawyer Representing 3 Christians Facing Prison for Faith in Iran Denied Access to Clients

by Stoyan Zaimov
Christian Post
"The lawyer representing two Christian pastors and a deacon facing six years in prison in Iran for their faith has reportedly been denied access to his clients ahead of an appeal hearing.

"'It is unacceptable that these men have been denied access to their legal counsel ahead of the court hearing. We remain concerned about the lack of due process in their case and the exceptional nature of their punishment. They have committed no crime and are effectively being punished for their faith," said Christian Solidarity Worldwide's Chief Executive Mervyn Thomas on Monday.

"'We are deeply concerned for their wellbeing and, in particular, for pastor Irani's health, which has deteriorated significantly during his unjust detention. We urge the Iranian authorities to release these men and the many others who are being held in contravention of the international covenants guaranteeing freedom of religion or belief to which Iran is party," Thomas added..."
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Stop Arming the Terrorists

11/28/2014

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Syrian Christians: 'Help Us To Stay - Stop Arming Terrorists'

by Ruth Sherlock
The Telegraph
"Outgoing artillery shook St Elias church as the priest reached the end of the Lord's Prayer.

"The small congregation kept their eyes on the pulpit, kneeling when required and trying to ignore the regular thuds that rattled the stained glass windows above them.

"Home to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world, the hard to reach Syrian agricultural town of Izraa has stood the comings and goings of many empires over the centuries.

"But as the country's civil war creeps closer, it is threatening to force the town's Christians into permanent exile: never to return, they fear.

"'I have been coming to this church since I was born," said Afaf Azam, 52. "But now the situation is very bad. Everyone is afraid. Jihadists control villages around us...'"
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Christians and Churches Broken in India

11/27/2014

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Picture
Photo Courtesy of persecution.in


International Christian Concern

2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW #241
Washington, D.C. 20006
www.persecution.org  |  E-mail: [email protected]

Media Contact: William Stark, Regional Manager for South Asia [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Church Service Attack in Southern India Leaves Christians, Churches Broken
Eight Christians were wounded in attack by 25 Hindu radicals in Karnataka 

11/26/2014 
Washington D.C.
International Christian Concern

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned of a violent attack on a church service in Bangarapet, Karnataka in Southern India. The attack came during the worship service on Sunday morning, November 23. The church was vandalized, and eight of the worshippers were injured in the attack; at least two were held in the hospital for serious injuries.

The incident occurred when a mob of 25 Hindu radicals broke into the Calvary Apostolic Church while the church service was going on. The mob was led by Mr. Rajendran, a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Mr. Karuanakaran, along with some women activists. First they destroyed the furniture in the Church and then started beating up believers who were gathered in the church for worship, Pastor Robert Solomon D'Souza told ICC.

"The whole scene of a mob assaulting my believers was shocking and very frightening," Pastor Robert, who has served as a pastor at Calvary Apostolic Church for the last 12 years, told ICC. "The children and women were crying aloud as they were beaten up by the mob," he recalled.

The women activists of the Hindu radical group attacked not only the women and children in the church, but they also attacked the pastor, hitting him with their fists and hands.

Pastor Robert said he was threatened by Mr. Rajendran and told to vacate the church. He told me, "We do not want a church in this place. You better leave this place or face the consequences."   

Aftermath of the attack on the Calvary Apostolic Church 

The attackers also used wooden sticks and iron rods, severely injuring several of the worshipers. 

Mr. Kribakaran, a 35-year-old man, was one of those wounded in the attack. 

He was hit in the head with an iron rod. Kribakaran had a deep cut on his head and collapsed from the wounds. 

He was taken to the hospital for treatment and spent two days in the hospital, as the injury was very severe. 

Two others were  reported to have been admitted to the hospital with broken limbs.

There is a local police station nearby but they failed to intervene and stop the attack, according to Asia News. Pastor Robert was taken to the station for questioning following the incident. The police, however, did not file a First Information Report (FIR) documenting the incident, which would then lead to further investigation.

ICC has been closely following the spike in attacks by Hindu radicals since the election of BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2014. ICC has produced a  Two-Part Special Report on the violence, specifically focusing on Uttar Pradesh state where 600 incidents of communal violence were reported in just the first 100 days of BJP rule.

ICC Regional Manager Todd Daniels said, "This represents another instance of a growing hostility along religious lines across India. It is extremely troubling to see a vicious attack on a place of worship and worshipers. Equally as troubling is the lack of response both by local and national officials to these kinds of attacks. Rather than taking steps to prevent these attacks, their inactivity perpetuates a culture of impunity that will lead to even more violence. We urge the Indian government, along with political and religious leaders, to address these issues of religious based violence so that all Indians - regardless of their faith - are free to worship without out fear of violence."  

For interviews, contact William Stark, Regional Manager for South Asia: [email protected]

# # #

You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference International Christian Concern (ICC) and include our web address, www.persecution.org. ICC is a Washington D.C.-based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.
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A Deadly Shooting in Egypt

11/27/2014

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PictureErnst Kamel






International Christian Concern

2020 Pennsylvania Ave. NW #241
Washington, D.C. 20006
www.persecution.org
  |  E-mail: [email protected]

A Deadly Shooting in Upper Egypt
Christians continue to face violence without protection

Todd Daniels, Regional Manager for the Middle East (@ICCMiddleEast)
with ICC's Egypt Representative

11/26/2014 Egypt

International Christian Concern

Ernst Kamel and Eid Gendy were shot and left for dead while driving their tuk-tuk in the village of Muharraq Monastery in southern Egypt. Eid was killed instantly, but Ernst was able to survive the attack.

This is just one of the many acts of violence against Christians in Upper Egypt that continue despite the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood and the installation of a new government led by President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Christians still face abduction, seizure of their properties, and oppression without any protection. Their appeals to the authorities are regularly met with indifference. Islamic gangs regularly target Christian communities, knowing that they will likely face no real prosecution.

Stopped at Gunpoint

It was about 8:30 pm on Wednesday, September 3, that Ernst Kamel and his cousin Eid had just picked up a passenger in their tuk-tuk, Tawfik Ayad. They were taking him towards his home, in the village of Muharraq Monastery, in Assiut Governorate (Upper Egypt), when they saw the two armed, masked men standing next to a motorcycle.

Ernst and Eid had pooled their money to buy the small taxi only two weeks earlier. "I had to sell our family's only buffalo and Eid borrowed some of the money from relatives to purchase it," Ernst told ICC.

Ernst with the tuk-tuk he was driving during the attack He had previously traveled to Libya to work as a construction worker but had returned in February as the security situation was too dangerous there. Economic opportunities are limited, so we decided to purchase a tuk-tuk, hoping it would produce a good income for our two families, Ernst continued.

"I was driving the tuk-tuk and Eid was sitting beside me. We were passing the cemetery near the entrance of the village when we saw the motorcycle and two masked gunmen waiting on it."

"They were ambushing anyone from our village, as all the residents of our village are Christians, to attack him and rob him. The Christians in our village are targeted. When they saw our tuk-tuk they stopped it at gunpoint," Ernst recounted.

"We were surprised as two masked men on a motorcycle, carrying weapons, came toward us," Tawfik Ayad, the passenger during the attack, told ICC.

"They ordered the driver at gunpoint to stop the tuk-tuk. When I saw that I was able to jump from the tuk-tuk and run, they shot at me, but I was able to hide among the plants and I escaped, running among the plants until I reached my home."

"They then demanded us to give them all the money we have and the tuk-tuk, threatening us with death," Ernst continued, "but we didn't give them anything."

"They then shot into the air to scare us and make us leave them the tuk-tuk and escape, but we confronted them. They shot at Eid first, he was shot twice, once in his neck and the other in his belly. He died immediately. Then they shot at me. I was shot twice in my stomach," Ernst recalled. "After they had considered that we died they fled immediately by their motorcycle."

"I was able to get up and walk a few feet before some passersby stopped and called my brothers and they were able to get me to the hospital," Ernst said.

Any Signs of Improvement?

Ernst is slowly recovering from his wounds. One of the bullets passed through his body, the other is still lodged inside, but doctors have decided to leave it there.

The healing process for Mariam, Eid's wife, and the couple's one-and-a-half-year-old son, and their grieving family will be a much longer process.

Eid's Mother holding a picture of her slain son Unfortunately, these types of attacks are not uncommon. Father Mossa Shaker, the priest of St Mary church, in nearby Quseyya told ICC, "just a few days after the incident of the shooting of the two Copts, some armed masked Muslim thugs stopped a pickup-truck owned by a Christian man loaded with mango fruit. They seized his pickup-truck and 500 Egyptian pounds from the owner."

Father Mossa added, "The Christian residents of Muharraq Monastery village are living in a state of tyranny, bullying, and oppression by the Islamic gangs of three neighboring villages called Alaghima village, the Great Manshiyya village, and Khashba village without any intervention from the police to protect them."

Ernst echoed the same theme as Father Mossa,"Also after our incident the security forces deployed across the village for four days. After they had left the village, the Islamic gangs came back to our village carrying the weapons, terrorizing the Christians, imposing extortion money on them amid a state of indifference and complicity by the police."

Ernst added "Our incident wasn't the first crime taking place in the village, but there are many incidents have been occurring daily by these criminals like imposing extortion money on them, kidnapping them for ransoms without any protection from the police."

Ayman Hakim, a store owner in Muharraq Monastery village, told ICC "The situation is so bad for us here. We face bullying, gangs imposing royalties. Every day I lock my store early, before it is dark, fearing the attacks of the Islamic gangs on my store asking for extortion money."

"Also, I cannot allow my children to go out in the street alone," he continued. "They are staying at home, prevented from playing in the street because we are afraid they might be kidnapped. Life is unsafe here. Many of us receive threats from those gangs without any intervention from the security to protect us." 

Ongoing attacks against Christians, churches, and Christian properties are occurring almost daily in different places in Egypt, especially in Upper Egypt, and the new government is more focused on dealing with challenges to their own power than protecting the people and churches of a religious minority.

"I feel that there are no rights for us in this country," Ernst concluded.

For interviews, contact Todd Daniels, Regional Manager for the Middle East:  [email protected]  

# # #

You are free to disseminate this news story. We request that you reference International Christian Concern (ICC) and include our web address, www.persecution.org. ICC is a Washington D.C.-based human rights organization that exists to help persecuted Christians worldwide. ICC provides Awareness, Advocacy, and Assistance to the worldwide persecuted Church. For additional information or for an interview, contact ICC at 800-422-5441.     
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Proclaiming Christ in Bangladesh

11/27/2014

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Picture Courtesy Morning Star News

Two Pastors in Bangladesh Face Charges Proclaiming Christ to Muslims

Police arrest group after Islamist throng disrupts meeting.

November 24, 2014

By Our Bangladesh Correspondent
Leave a Comment


DHAKA, Bangladesh
Morning Star News

Two pastors in northwestern Bangladesh could face two years in prison if convicted for “hurting religious sentiments.”

Police on Nov. 9 arrested the pastors and 41 people, including Muslims, who were listening to proclamation of Christ at a rented house in Nabinagar village in Lalmonirhat District, 300 kilometers (186 miles) northwest of Dhaka, after at least 100 Islamists disrupted the meeting and began “jabbing” at the church leaders’ faces, sources said.

The 41 people who were detained along with their children were released that night; the pastors of Faith Bible Church of God were not released on bail until Nov. 17, charged with “hurting religious sentiments” and luring Muslims to convert by offering money. The church leaders deny both charges.

“We did not tell anything to anyone that might hurt religious sensibility,” one of the released pastors, Arif Mondol, told Morning Star News. “We did not offer any money to anyone to be converted to Christianity.”

An area source told Morning Star News on condition of anonymity that the incident caused a sweeping furor among local Muslims.

“More than 100 Muslims headed by local Jamaat-e-Islami party members and Muslim clerics gathered at the house and started barking questions at the pastors – why did they propagate Christianity in the locality and convert some of them,” the source said.

The Islamist leaders asked the pastors who had given them permission to spread Christianity in the area.

“The pastors replied that it did not take any permission from any authority to propagate any religion and convert people to any religion,” the source said. “Suddenly the Muslims became apoplectic with rage, tried to pick a fight and started jabbing the pastors’ faces.”

Police arrived and detained all 41 people, along with their children, and the two pastors, and took them to the Lalmonirhat police station at noon.

Local imams filed a case against the pastors the following day. Police told Morning Star News they were investigating.

Nazrul Islam Mukul, an attorney who helped the two church leaders to obtain bail, told Morning Star News that the pastors told those in attendance that Jesus Christ was alive and would return, and that as the living one everyone should come to Him for salvation.

“If the allegations of the case are proved and if they are found guilty, they will be put in jail for maximum of two years according to Article 295/A,” Mukul said. “People of the locality were very angry with the pastors. If police had not come timely, they would have faced severe consequences.”

A hearing is scheduled for Dec. 21.

Nirmol Rozario, secretary general of Bangladesh Christian Association, told Morning Star News that the charges went against the spirit of the country’s constitution.

“I demand that the case against the pastors should be dismissed, since the grounds of the case are contradictory to our constitution,” Rozario said. “This is the act of the communal and religious fanatics.”

Sunni Muslims constitute 90 percent of Bangladesh’s population, according to the 2011 census, with Hindu making up 9.5 percent of the total population, which the U.S. government estimates at 163.7 million people . The remainder of the population is Christian (mostly Roman Catholic) and Theravada-Hinayana Buddhist. There are also small numbers of Shia Muslims, Bahais, animists, and Ahmadiyya Muslims.

If you or your organization would like to help enable Morning Star News to continue raising awareness of persecuted Christians worldwide with original-content reporting, please consider collaborating at http://morningstarnews.org/donate/?   

###

© 2014 Morning Star News. Articles/photos may be reprinted with credit to Morning Star News. http://morningstarnews.org

Morning Star News is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation that relies solely on contributions to offer original news reports of persecuted Christians. By providing reliable news on the suffering church, Morning Star News’ mission is to empower those in the free world to help and to encourage persecuted Christians that they are not forgotten or alone. For free subscription or to make tax-deductible donations, contact [email protected], or send check to Morning Star News, 24310 Moulton Parkway, Suite O # 157, Laguna Hills, CA 92637, USA.

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Churches Destroyed in Iraq

11/27/2014

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Picture







ISIS Destroys Historic Mosul Church

by Carrie Dedrick, Editor
Christian Headlines
"St. George’s church, one of the oldest churches in Mosul has been destroyed by ISIS militants. The church was originally built in the late 1600s, then rebuilt in 1931.   

"ISIS members bombed the church saying, “Allahu Akbar,” or “God is great.”   

"St. George’s is the latest of many churches in Mosul to be destroyed by the terrorist group..."
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Pastor Waits in Bhutan

11/26/2014

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Picture
Photo Courtesy Open Doors USA



Bhutanese Pastor Waits

by Lindsay Steele
Mission Network News
"Bhutanese pastor Tandin Wangyal presented his 25-minute defense against the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) before the Samtse Court on October 20, 2014. He is accused of violating Section 105 of the Bhutan’s Communications, Information, and Media Act of 2006 (presenting a film to the public without permission) and Section 70 of the Civil Society Organizations Act (illegally soliciting public funds).

“'Most honorable judge, our supreme Scripture, the Bible, clearly says in 1 Timothy 2:2 that we are to pray for our rulers, kings, and authorities,” said Tandin. “Every Christian in Bhutan, regardless of social background, upholds you in prayer.

“'We are not against our king, country, or people. Our Scripture says in Romans 13:1 that we are to submit under the given authority,” he continued. “Bhutanese Christians abide by this. Your most honorable judge, I am ready to lay down my life for this nation...'”
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    Crown of Life Blog

    Picture
    The Martyrdom of ST Stephen, Pietro da Cortona, 1660

    News and Information about
    Persecuted Christians from all around the
    World

    Persecuted saints benefit most from your heartfelt and earnest prayer.

    Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial;
    for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him
    .
    James 1:12

    'Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the
    devil is about to cast some of you into prison, so
    that you will be tested, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
    Revelation 2:10

    New American Standard Bible 
    (NASB)

    Copyright © 
    1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971,
    1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995
    by
    The Lockman Foundation


    Picture

    HOW TO READ A PERSECUTION NEWS STORY

    Trials make the promise sweet;
    Trials give new life to prayer;
    Trials bring me to His feet,
    Lay me low, and keep me there.


    "God often takes away our comforts and our privileges in order to make us better Christians. He trains His soldiers not in tents of ease and luxury, but by turning them out and subjecting them to forced marches and hard service. He makes them ford through streams, and swim through rivers, and climb mountains, and walk many long miles with heavy backpacks of sorrow. Well, Christian, may this not account for the troubles through which you are passing? Is the Lord bringing out your graces and making them grow? Is it for this reason He contends with you?"

    Read Why Do I Face Trials?,
    by Alistair Begg, Truth for Life Daily, at One Place

    Christian persecution is just a phenomenon in the
    Middle East.

    Christians aren’t greatly
    impacted by persecution.

    Whatever persecution there is, the damage is superficial - more a loss of multicultural diversity than anything else.

    Christians supposedly bring persecution upon themselves by proselytizing.

    Persecution couldn’t
    happen here.

    Please read 5 Myths about Persecution of Christians, by
    Kristin Wright, at Religion Today.


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