Zprávy HCJB 5.4.2004

 DODATEK ZDRŽEL NÁVRH ZÁKONA O „NENÁVISTNÉ LITERATUŘE“ V KANADSKÉM SENÁTU
   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)
 
 VŠECHNY ZPRÁVY V ANGLIČTINĚ
   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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