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NA SRÍ LANCE přijala vláda zákon, který zakazuje změnu náboženského vyznání. Původně se tento zákon měl týkat pouze „zákazu vynuceného obrácení“, nyní je však změna náboženského vyznání porušením zákona. Iniciativa vzešla ze strany přívrženců buddhismu. (Religion Today(International Christian Concern)
SPOLEČNOST NA OCHRANU LIDSKÝCH PRÁV v Německu požaduje více práv pro turecké křesťany. Je požadováno větší zapojení tureckých náboženských menšin do profesionálního života země, včetně vedoucích pozic v administrativě a armádě. Většina z nemuslimských Turků jsou křesťané. V zemi navštěvuje 3000 věřících 55 evangelikálních sborů. (Religion Today/Assist News Service)
V AUSTRÁLII budou moci posluchači v dalších 66 oblastech poslouchat křesťanské rádio. Jedná se o stanici Vision FM, kterou vlastní a spravuje společnost United Christian Broadcasters Australia, která začala vysílat na jedné frekvenci v Queenslandu v roce 1999. Během pěti let se rozrostla na 175 stanic po celé Austrálii. (Religious Media Agency/United Christian Broadcasters, Australia)
OMS INTERNATIONAL vysílá do 10 zemí Afriky své věřící, aby šířili evangelium a zakládali sbory v afrických vesnicích. Od února 2003 vzniklo v rámci programu „Do Afriky“ 180 nových sborů v šesti zemích. (Mission Network News)
DÁT LIDEM DO RUKOU BIBLI je nový program společnosti Bible pro svět, který se jmenuje „Billion Bible Campaign“. Ve většině amerických rodin je několik výtisků Biblí, na které se práší. Cílem této akce je vyzvat ty, kteří mají více výtisků, aby je poslali do anglicky mluvících zemí, kde je jich nedostatek. Jedná se o více než 50 anglicky mluvících zemí. Druhou stranou projektu je i zapojení každého jednotlivce do misijní práce. (Mission Network News)
SATELITNÍ VYSÍLÁNÍ V RUSKU mění životy lidí, kteří díky němu mohou poznat Krista. Lidé ze všech koutů Ruska posílají své dopisy, ve kterých vyjadřují svou vděčnost a díky za křesťanské vysílání rádia Nový život. To začalo vysílat v říjnu 2000, 24 hodin denně kvalitní křesťanské programy, které je možno poslouchat v celém bývalém Sovětském svazu a východní Evropě. Příjem těchto programů je možný ve sborech, věznicích, nemocnicích a ve všech domácnostech. (HCJB World Radio)
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SRI LANKAN CABINET APPROVES BILL PROHIBITING RELIGIOUS CONVERSION
The Sri Lankan cabinet has approved a bill to prevent conversion of
Buddhists to other religions. Last month the Jathika Hela Urumaya party
(JHU) put forward a bill to parliament on the "prohibition of forcible
conversion." In addition, the Minister of Buddhism submitted his own bill to
prohibit "forcible conversion" on June 16. The next day the cabinet approved
the bill to be presented to parliament. The scope of the minister's act is
wider in interpretation than the bill tabled by the JHU. This act
effectively makes conversion from one religion to another an offense under
the law. Section 2 of the draft act stipulates that "no person shall convert
nor attempt to convert or aid or abet acts of conversion of a person to a
different religion." If enacted, the law would effectively remove
individuals' fundamental right of embracing a religion of their choice,
effectively outlawing the act of conversion. (Religion Today/International
Christian Concern)
HUMAN RIGHTS SOCIETY DEMANDS MORE RIGHTS FOR TURKISH CHRISTIANS
The International Society for Human Rights (ISHR) in Frankfurt, Germany, is
demanding more rights for Turkish Christians. The society wants Turkey to
not only recognize the Kurdish culture but also that of other minorities
such as Aramaic and Assyrian Christians. Turkey is striving for membership
in the European Union and is responding to demands for greater respect for
minority rights. Radio and television programs in the Kurdish language
recently have been introduced. ISHR encourages the Turkish authorities to
lift the ban on teaching in the Aramaic language in Orthodox monasteries in
the Tur Abdin region. In addition, Christians should be granted access to
all professions including leading positions in administration and the
military. "Turkey is not a Muslim club," declared the human rights
organization. All but 0.4 percent of the 67 million Turkish inhabitants are
Muslim. Most of the non-Muslims are Christian with 3,000 believers attending
55 evangelical churches in the country. (Religion Today/Assist News Service)
AUSTRALIAN LISTENERS FUND 66 ADDITIONAL CHRISTIAN RADIO OUTLETS
More than 66 new communities in Australia will soon be able to tune in to
Vision FM Christian radio, thanks to pledges made June 3-5 during the
network's annual "Dream With Us" radio appeal. Total giving before, during
and after the event has surpassed $283,000. "We give the Lord all the glory,
honor and praise," says Vision FM Chief Executive Ian Worby. "It's obvious
that God believes in Christian radio and so do many hundreds of generous
Australians from across the nation." The new stations will be progressively
brought on air in the coming months. A nondenominational, nonprofit
operational network, Vision FM is owned and operated by United Christian
Broadcasters Australia which started broadcasting with a single frequency in
Queensland in 1999. Five years later it has 175 stations across Australia.
All receive Vision FM programming 24 hours a day originating from its
broadcast operations center in Underwood, Brisbane. (Religious Media
Agency/United Christian Broadcasters, Australia)
OMS INTERNATIONAL PLANTS 180 VILLAGE CHURCHES IN 6 AFRICAN NATIONS
Believers sponsored by OMS International are traveling into 10 nations of
Africa to share the gospel and plant churches. Bruce Bennett, OMS
International's South Africa director, says the program, called "Into
Africa," is a village church-planting movement. "In Sub-Saharan Africa there
are a number of churches in the cities," says Bennett. "But once you move
out of the cities and into the villages there are very few churches. And
where there are churches the pastors are generally untrained." OMS is
establishing training centers in these communities. "We have found that
people who have been trained in cities often don't want to go back to
village communities," Bennett explained. "So we're taking theological
education into the villages and training church planters right where they
live." Sickness is a problem for the outreach with malaria and AIDS rampant
in the region. War in some areas is also causing problems for their
outreach, but church-planting work is being established, Bennett said.
"Since February 2003 the village church-planting program initiated 180
churches in six nations." (Mission Network News)
LITERATURE MINISTRY URGES AMERICANS TO DONATE EXTRA BIBLES
Placing Bibles into the hands of people around the world is part of a new
program from Bibles for the World called the "Billion Bible Campaign."
Ministry spokesman Eric Foley says many Christians in the U.S. have multiple
copies of God's Word in reserve status, collecting dust. "Now it's time to
call them up to active duty. And the first offensive in the Billion Bible
Campaign is the All Volunteer Bible Army. The first thing we're going to do
is ask all the Christians in the U.S. to contribute all the extra Bibles
they have to send to English-speaking countries where Bibles are desperately
needed." More than 50 English-speaking countries have a shortage of Bibles.
Foley says the program isn't just to place Bibles. "The other half of our
mission is to transform the way the global church thinks about missions.
Instead of individual Christians supporting missions, we see that the Lord
is calling us to help individual Christians to become missionaries."
(Mission Network News)
* LIVES CHANGED FOR CHRIST THROUGH SATELLITE NETWORK IN RUSSIA
People in the Euro-Asia region are listening in increasing numbers to New
Life Radio (NLR), a satellite network operated by Christian Radio for Russia
with HCJB World Radio as the principal partner. From Moscow, Sub-regional
Director Mark Irwin shared recent testimonial letters from NLR listeners who
told how the broadcasts have helped them find/maintain a relationship with
Christ.
"We are glad to have New Life Radio and listen to it with a great deal of
pleasure," wrote Victor from Ukraine. "We record it on tapes and give it out
to our friends." Victor also gives out copies of the tapes to be played in
microbuses. "Many people ask about the radio station," he said. "There are
many interesting testimonies about how God is working through your radio in
the lives of passengers."
Another letter came from Zelenokumsk, a Christian who works in the local
prison. He reported that the prison administration expressed a desire to
install satellite equipment so the prisoners could receive the radio
broadcasts. They already have installed nine loudspeakers in the prison
colony of 1,500 people and need six more. Potential opportunities to play
the programs in additional prisons across Russia continue to open up.
A local church in Perm near Russia's Ural Mountains installed NLR reception
equipment in a drug rehabilitation center where church members minister
among the recovering addicts. Recently 23 of the center's residents sent a
letter to NLR's studios in Moscow expressing their gratitude for the
Christian radio programming that they listen to daily.
"As they noted in their letter, they could not thank God enough for the
radio programs and wondered how they would ever live without it when it came
time to leave the center," Irwin says. "Please pray as the local church
group in Perm would like to start a Christian radio station using NLR
programming as the basis for the broadcasts."
One letter summed up the mission of NLR and its ministry purpose. "I am very
grateful to God and you for your radio programs," a listener wrote. "I
believe that your ministry is partial fulfillment of the prophecy in Matthew
24:14 about carrying the message of Christ to the whole world. May Christian
radio sound forth forever!"
NLR, launched in October 2000, is a 24-hour-a-day satellite feed network
that makes quality Christian programming available to radio stations across
the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. Churches, prisons, hospitals,
apartment buildings and individual families can receive the satellite
programming and use it for ministry. (HCJB World Radio) |
Zprávy HCJB 23.6.2004
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