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Arabský pastor, který spolupracuje s Words of Hope, začíná s rozhlasovým vysíláním do 22 zemí Arabské ligy na středním východě. Pastor říká, že velký počet lidí praktikujících islám se dívá na křesťanství jako na západní náboženství. Přitom je důležité, aby si uvědomili, že křesťanství pochází právě ze středního východu. „Do světa vyšlo právě odsud. Musíme přesvědčit lidi, že když je Boží slovo bráno vážně, nestojí evangeliím v cestě žádné kulturní bariéry.“ Vysvětlil, že lidé na středním východě se dívají na USA jako na křesťanský národ, ale pak slyší, že americký soud „umožňuje sňatky lidí stejného pohlaví. To si spojují s křesťanstvím. Musíme tedy zdůraznit, že to neodpovídá biblickému učení, a proto ne všechno, co se odehrává v západní kultuře, je součástí křesťanské víry.“ Křesťanské rádio už má své výsledky. „Už jsme obdrželi povzbuzující odpovědi ze strany iráckých a palestinských lidí,“ říká pastor. (Mission Network News) |
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SEVEN PAKISTANI PASTORS MISSING, FEARED KIDNAPPED
After a series of handwritten threats sent to Christian leaders in the
Pakistani city of Quetta last week, at least one Protestant pastor has been
reported missing by his family, with the whereabouts of another six
uncertain. Pastor Wilson Fazal, 41, was reportedly en route to morning
services Sunday, May 16, at the Pakistan Gospel Assembly in Quetta’s
Bashirabad suburb when he disappeared. In a letter delivered to his house
five days ago, Fazal was told, “Christians of Quetta, you are displeasing
God … Accept the faith of jihad. … Get ready, ready, ready, or else.” Six
other Pentecostal church leaders in the city are also missing and may have
gone into hiding to avoid capture. According to unconfirmed reports, a local
pastor has received a letter from Fazal’s kidnappers, declaring they will
not release him until local churches comply with their demands to close down
their Christian institutions. Pakistan’s Christian churches and institutions
have been the violent targets of repeated terrorist attacks since September
2001. (Compass)
* HCJB World Radio is bringing words of hope and encouragement to people
across Central Asia via radio. Together with partners, Christian broadcasts
go out in languages such as Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek, Southern Uzbek and Urdu.
TURKISH PASTOR ACQUITTED OF ALL CRIMINAL CHARGES
A criminal court in southeastern Turkey dropped all charges last week
against a Protestant pastor accused of opening an “illegal” church. In what
reports called a “jet acquittal,” Pastor Ahmet Guvener was fully acquitted
in the opening hearing of his case before Diyarbakir’s Third Criminal Court.
The quick resolution of the case surprised both Guvener and his lawyer,
Abdul Kadir Pekdemir, who said a criminal case typically extends for a year
or more before a verdict is issued. But when Judge Necla Ipek asked State
Prosecutor Vahdettin Taskiran to present the government’s case against
Guvener, Taskiran declared that no sufficient grounds existed to bring
charges. Instead, Taskiran stressed that under recent reforms passed in
Parliament, international agreements now take precedence over national laws,
granting Turkish citizens the right both individually and in community to
conduct worship, as well as to teach and propagate their faith. (Compass
Direct)
GOSPEL RADIO OPENING UP OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHRIST IN MIDDLE EAST
An Arab pastor working with Words of Hope is beaming radio programming into
22 countries of the Arab League in the Middle East. The pastor says many who
practice Islam view Christianity as a western religion, and it’s important
for them to realize Christianity came from the Middle East. “It went to the
world from there. We need to convince people that when you take the Word of
God seriously there are no cultural barriers to the gospel.” He explained
that people in the Middle East view the U.S. as a Christian nation, but then
they hear that U.S. courts “have allowed marriage for people of the same
sex. They identify that with Christianity. We need to point out that’s not
the teaching of the Bible and therefore whatever’s in the western culture is
not the Christian faith.” Christian radio is already having an impact. “We
have seen some encouraging responses from Iraqi and Palestinian people,” the
pastor says. (Mission Network News)
HCJB World Radio reaches across North Africa, the Middle East and Europe
with Christian Arabic programming aired via shortwave, satellite and local
stations. The Radio Al Mahabba (Radio Love) Arabic satellite network airs
programs direct-to-home 24 hours a day. This region has the world’s highest
concentration of personal satellite dishes.
BILLY GRAHAM REMAINS HOSPITALIZED AFTER FALL
Evangelist Billy Graham remains a patient at Mission Hospital in Asheville,
N.C., where he continues to undergo evaluation and treatment of injuries
from a fall he suffered Friday at his home. He had been home recovering from
a partial hip replacement performed in January at Mayo Clinic’s St. Luke’s
Hospital in Jacksonville, Fla. Further CT studies have confirmed he
sustained a fracture of the pelvis and indicated it is more significant than
originally suspected. Additional diagnostic testing is planned. He is listed
in fair condition by the hospital. (Billy Graham Evangelistic Association)
AFRICAN IMMIGRANT CHURCHES SPREADING IN NEW YORK CITY
More than 100 African churches have spread across New York City, where
pastors preach the gospel in languages such as Ibo, Twi and Ga. According to
a recent report in The New York Times, “an explosion of African immigrant
churches in the past 15 years has helped reshape religious worship in the
city.” “The surge is creating oases of Christian faith for newcomers from
Nigeria, Ghana, Congo, Ethiopia and other countries and fueling an
evangelical movement along the province of Latinos and African-Americans,”
the newspaper observed. (Charisma News/CMDNet)
NO ROOM FOR CHRISTIAN SPEAKERS IN MONTANA SCHOOL DISTRICT
A civil liberties group is asking a federal appeals court to let the case of
a Christian motivational speaker proceed to trial. The case involves a man
who was invited to give a non-religious address to Montana middle school
students -- until the school board, fearing that he might express his
Christian views, rescinded the invitation. The Rutherford Institute says
Dillon, Mont., school officials discriminated against Jaroy Carpenter
because of his religious beliefs. Carpenter was asked to take part in a
middle school assembly, after several students died in suicides and car
crashes. Concerned Dillon residents were looking for ways to reach out to
troubled kids and as part of that effort the local school board invited
Carpenter to give a “strictly secular” speech to students on Oct. 9, 2002.
The school board rescinded its invitation because of concerns that Carpenter
’s Christian faith and affiliation with an evangelical Christian ministry
might put the school at risk of violating the so-called “separation of
church and state.” Other area schools that had agreed to hold similar
assemblies rescinded their offers as well. (Crosswalk) |
Zprávy HCJB 18.5.2004
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