Displaying items by tag: Religion

Figures for the persecution of Christians have shown a 'shocking increase', by 13.9% according to Open Doors World Watch List 2019. Asia has a sharp rise. China rose 16 places to number 27, with new laws to control all expressions of religion. Some church leaders say it is the worst since the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976. India, the world's largest democracy, is now number 10 on the list. Hindu extremists act with impunity, violently attacking Christians and churches and non-Hindu religious minorities. Rising nationalism is leading to persecution in Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal, where national identity is tied to religion and those from minority faiths are considered outcasts. Persecution in North Korea has been worse than any other country for the last 18 years. In the north and middle of Nigeria, 3,700 Christians were killed for their faith - almost twice as many as the previous year.

The partial federal government shutdown is in its fourth week. When a Baptist pastor in Memphis, Donald Johnson, realised that people in his congregation would be affected by what the president was doing, he stepped in to help them weather an uncertain period of missed paychecks. Having found eight people on the church's database who were federal workers, he collected an offering and had the church's financial board match what was collected. He was able to raise $8,000, enough for $1,000 each.

Ten years ago the notorious atheist bus campaign marked a high point for militant atheism. But now there's a new and more serious challenge to the Church. It is ‘identity politics’. Although it highlights oppression or injustice in a way that the Church can support, at its worst it pits different social groups against one another, black vs white, female vs male, transgender vs feminist, rich vs poor. It encourages judgement and prejudice against those who are allegedly powerful - a white, straight man is deemed ‘privileged’ though he may have experienced many power-limiting experiences in his life. It provokes its followers to see antagonism within every social interaction. Identity politics has taken over much of the media, academia and political discourse. Google employee James Damore lost his job for asserting that the gender gap in the tech industry is due to biological differences.

Evangelical Christians are living in a period of historic transition as Western culture becomes post-Christian and attempts a revision of faith values. By and large the spirit of our age no longer discerns or delights in the beauty of God’s design for human life. Many deny that God created human beings for His glory, and in our personal and physical design as male and female. After a group of 250 Dutch pastors signed the Nashville Statement (which promotes a biblical view of sexuality), they were met by strong opposition - even the Hague flew a rainbow flag in protest. The country’s public prosecution service is examining the statement to see if there is any basis for a criminal investigation against the pastors. Over recent days, the public outcry against them for their Christian convictions has been ferocious. Politicians and celebrities have publicly denounced them. See also

Uganda’s constitution provides for religious freedom, including conversion from one faith to another. Muslims make up 12% of Uganda’s population. Recently, Muslims in eastern Uganda sent a Christian mother to hospital with injuries for praying in Jesus’s name, and tore down a church building nearby. Both the woman and the church’s pastor fear that their lives are in danger. Deborah Gimbo was attacked while praying by herself in her home. She also prays three evenings a week in her home with two Christian women. The assailants said, ‘Today we warn you that you should avoid noisy prayers and the use of Issa [Jesus] in your prayers.’ A local imam told the assailants, ‘People who pray in Jesus’ name should be fought and pressured until they only worship Allah, or are killed’. Pastor Simon Mustafa Waseke, a former Muslim, had his church destroyed by villagers. The assailants threatened to kill him if he stays in the area.

Our country is in crisis. Our whole future is in question. Britain - once a Godly nation - has now turned away from God. Brexit and the authority of the Bible have divided church and state. You are invited to a Day of Prayer on 26 January at the SSE Arena, Wembley. We can change Britain through the power of united prayer. Intercessions will be led by David Hathaway, Clifford Hill, Rev Betty King, Andrea Williams, Lou Engle, Bishop John Francis, Pastor Nims Obunge, Rachel Hickson, Rev Yemi Adedeji, Pastor Tobi Adeboyega, James Aladiran, Apostle Elijah Chanak, and others. For information and tickets click the ‘More’ button. For other upcoming events, including prayer and fasting from 14 to 16 January for the Brexit vote in Parliament on the 15th, go to

On 9 January Asher Samson, from Birmingham, was deported to Pakistan, despite last-minute attempts to convince the authorities that his case warranted a judicial review because the proper procedures had not been followed. Mr Samson came to the UK in 2004 to continue theology training in order to become a pastor. He decided to apply for asylum here after being beaten and threatened with execution by Islamic extremists during visits to Pakistan. A friend from his church writes, ‘He has no close family there, and rightly fears for his life. We can only pray; though on one level that seems so little, we know it is the most effective thing to do.’

Since Donald Trump became  president, people are talking of renewed Christian political advocacy. With Democrats retaking Congress, and headline-grabbing activism around the migrant ‘caravans’ on the Mexican border, religious liberals could sway policy debates in 2019. Meanwhile the United Methodist Church’s bishops will hold a special conference in February to resolve a year-long debate about its current stance on homosexuality. It currently bans ordaining non-celibate homosexuals or blessing same-sex marriages. Many within and outside the denomination expect the conference to lead to a schism. A 1,300-page report has detailed how 301 Catholic priests abused 1,000+ children over several decades while the hierarchy shielded perpetrators from accountability. On 2 January, bishops began a prayer retreat over this problem, with a summit of Catholic leaders scheduled for February.

Rabbi Jason Sobel recently spoke on the significance of baby Jesus being placed in swaddling clothes after his birth, as announced by the angel to the shepherds. He believes these shepherds weren’t ordinary shepherds. He believes the lambs they were raising needed to be without blemish, because they would be offered as sacrifices in the temple. So these ‘Levitical shepherds’ would wrap the lambs in swaddling clothes to protect them. In that case, swaddling would have been an important connection point for the shepherds. ‘What did they see? A baby born in the same place that the Passover lambs were born, swaddled like a Passover lamb, pointing to the fact that Messiah was the Lamb of God who would take over the sins of the world.’

2018 has been a year of great triumphs and unimaginable tragedies. We have seen both incredible good and unfathomable evil. We have witnessed miracles and seen suffering. But as we look ahead, we remember and proclaim that God is sovereign over every corner of the globe. He alone is the hope of 2019 - the Hope of the Nations. Though some situations may seem hopeless, we recognise and rejoice that He reigns ‘far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title’, and that ‘all things are under His feet’ (Ephesians 1:21,22a). Nothing is impossible for Him. God reigns, and is moving today all over the world!