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Kanadští věřící si vydechli, když zákonodárci odložili projednávání zákona, který by posuzoval kritiku homosexuality jako kriminální čin. Kdyby návrh zákona C-250 prošel, byla by určitá část Písma týkající se homosexuality posuzovaná jako „nenávistná literatura“ a spadala by pod kanadský trestní zákoník. Při konečném hlasování byl však tento návrh zákona kvůli dodatkům před velikonočními svátky odložen. „Celou situaci Senát odložil do 20. dubna,“ vysvětluje Donald Brooker z kanadské International Bible Society. „Věříme, že existuje reálná možnost vypsání nových voleb. Jestliže k tomu dojde, tento návrh zákona bude v Senátu v podstatě umrtven.“ S pohledem na budoucí evangelizaci prosí Brooker za modlitební podporu. „Jestliže už se to jednou dostalo tak daleko, musíme být ostražití, aby se to znovu neopakovalo. Naše křesťanská práva jsou v sázce. Definice manželství je v sázce. Všechny tyto věci budou i nadále pokračovat úměrně tomu, jak se sekularizuje společnost tady v Kanadě.“ (Mission Network News) |
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3 CHRISTIANS GUNNED DOWN IN INDONESIA AS VIOLENCE ESCALATES
Three shootings in four days have left two Christians dead and one seriously
injured in the Poso area of Central Sulawesi in eastern Indonesia. Pastor
Freddy Wuisan, 25, was fatally shot in the chest in front of his wife by
gunmen who knocked on the door of his house located next to his church on
Tuesday, March 30, reported the Barnabas Fund. Wuisan lived in Membuke (30
miles west of Poso). Six hours earlier Rosia Pilongo, 41, the Christian dean
of the School of Law at Sintuwu Moroso University in Poso, was seriously
injured by shots to the head and right hand. Pilongo is in critical
condition at Poso General Hospital. In both shootings, eyewitnesses saw two
people quickly leaving the scene on a motorcycle. The two most recent
attacks follow another shooting on Saturday, March 27, in which Christian
Tanalida, 37, was killed near Central Poso. Ride-by shootings and other
attacks by motorcyclists are becoming a common feature of anti-Christian
violence in Central Sulawesi. On March 11 a woman in the village of
Maranatha, 18 miles to the south of regional capital of Palu, was hacked to
death by machete-wielding motorcyclists. (Assist News Service/Barnabas Fund)
* HCJB World Radio worked with local Indonesian partners to establish a
local Christian station in Sumba Island. Plans are also being made to
establish stations on Roti Island and at Kupang in West Timor. Equipment was
sent from the HCJB World Radio Engineering Center in Elkhart, Ind.
AMENDMENT DELAYS 'HATE LITERATURE' BILL IN CANADA'S SENATE
Canadian believers are breathing a sigh of relief after lawmakers delayed a
potential law that would have made speaking out against homosexuality a
crime. If passed, Bill C-250 could have labeled certain portions of
Scripture regarding homosexuality as "hate literature" under Canada's
criminal code. But opponents delayed a final vote on the bill before Easter
recess by moving an amendment on the bill. "The whole situation by the
Senate has been deferred to April 20," explains International Bible Society
Canada's Donald Brooker. "What we believe is that there's a good chance that
an election will be called between now and then. If that happens,
essentially Bill C-250 would die in the Senate when the election is called."
Brooker, looking to the future of outreach, urges prayer. "If it made it
this far once, we need to be vigilant to make sure it never happens again.
Our rights as Christians are being challenged; the definition of marriage
has been challenged. All these things are going to continue to happen as
it's becoming more of a secular society here in Canada." (Mission Network
News)
ALTERNATIVE ORTHODOX CHURCHES DENIED LEGAL STATUS IN RUSSIA
Often elderly and without a regular priest, most True Orthodox communities
in Russia maintain a house church existence due to lingering fear of
persecution, rejection of the state and a lack of the organizational skills
required to register. There have also been indications that local
authorities sometimes bar attempts to register by groups adhering to the
True Orthodox tradition, as well as other Orthodox groups opposed to the
Moscow Patriarchate. Without legal status, such religious groups have the
right only to worship and teach existing followers on premises provided by
their own members. According to Moscow department of justice statistics
following the religion law's 2000 re-registration deadline, there are eight
registered True Orthodox parishes in the Russian capital. Five of these
belong to the Russian Orthodox Catholic Church, which claims True Orthodox
provenance. Three more parishes in the Moscow region had more recently been
denied registration. (Forum 18 News Service)
WORLD HELP LAUNCHES AMBITIOUS EVANGELISTIC STRATEGY FOR INDIA
World Help is launching a bold plan for evangelizing India's Uttar Pradesh
state, and World Help's Eric Vess says church leaders are enthusiastic in
spite of the obstacles. Their goal is to plant 100,000 churches -- one for
every village in the state of Uttar Pradesh -- by going from village by
village with church-planting teams. Their strategy for reaching these
villages is simple -- they ask for permission and invite friends and family
to hear their message. "The goal is that whole extended families and entire
villages will become part of a church-planting movement," Vess explains. "So
it's not a single person here and a single person there being isolated and
drawn out of their society. Rather, whole families and villages are coming
to Christ." (Mission Network News)
* "The Voice of the Great Southland," the shortwave station operated by HCJB
World Radio-Australia since January 2003, airs more than 44 hours of weekly
English programming across India. Daily Urdu programs went on the air in
July 2003, and since then programs have been added in Hindi, Punjabi, Tamil,
Nepali, Chattisgarhi, Hmar and Manipuri. Most of the programming is produced
at a studio and follow-up center established in New Delhi in 2003.
CHRISTIANS LEADING RELIEF EFFORTS IN IRAQ WITH BIBLE GIFTS
Christians are heading to Iraq providing relief, and more than 900,000
Bibles in Arabic have already been sent in aid, The Los Angeles Times
reports. Despite the growing concern for safety for missionaries traveling
to Iraq, the distribution effort by Cook Communications Ministries
International (CCMI) in Colorado Springs, Colo., has been met with
enthusiasm. This is a development that is a surprise to those who are
involved in spearheading the actual delivery of the Bibles to the almost
exclusively Muslim nation. CCMI is leading in the effort by providing its
classic perennial bestseller Picture Bible for free distribution to the
children of Iraq. CCMI's gift to the people of Iraq has been an evangelism
catalyst promoting the spread of the gospel throughout the country. Since
the distribution began, there has been a request for 50,000 additional
copies of the Picture Bible that will be distributed to the Kurdish people
in the area that they currently occupy. "We are so excited to see how God is
using this ministry effort in Iraq," said Tim Gunsolley, CCMI's vice
president of development. (Religion Today/Assist News Service)
DESPITE DISABILITIES, ACTIVIST FINDS WAYS TO SHARE GOSPEL
Scott Spalding's idea of Christian activism has always been a bit off
center. "God has given me a gift of recognizing, then filling unusual
ministry needs in a 'between-the-cracks' fashion," said the 44-year-old
Oregon man. Spalding suffers from as many as 17 diagnosed medical maladies,
the most debilitating being Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism. Although
the disease has rendered Spalding severely disabled, his love for Christ and
desire to share the gospel is strong and healthy. In some ways, Spalding's
disabilities have proven to be an asset in ministry. His high energy,
combined with his disabled status, has enabled him to devote all of his time
and enthusiasm to evangelistic projects. His efforts have included a
"Cruisin' for Christ" mini-truck ministry; initiating a Christian music and
worship service presentation; mounting an LED-driven reader board in the
rear window of his pickup programmed with several gospel messages; providing
CDs to a nearby Christian-owned jazz station; and maintaining an aggressive
campaign to convince cable TV providers to add Christian networks to their
lineups. He also sets up and maintains racks of Christian literature in
several high-traffic retail stores and restaurants. (Religion Today)
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