Melkite Greek Catholic Patriarch Gregorios III, head of the largest Catholic community in Syria, says money and weapons given to moderate groups are reputedly being used by IS in the struggle against President Bashar al-Assad. The Patriarch’s comments came after Mr Assad said on Sunday 26 July that the opposition’s increased strength meant he could not fight on every front against IS, the Al-Nusra Front and other militant groups. Hitting out against the West’s Middle East policies, Patriarch Gregorios said, ‘If the West helps moderates in Syria it is helping IS in an indirect way. Giving money or arms to the weak, moderate groups gets into the hands of the powerful militant groups the next day. We see this happening all the time.’ His comments come after the US-led coalition delivered military aid to help Syrian Kurdish forces fighting against IS in Kobani on the Turkish border and offered support to the Free Syrian Army despite concerns that the aid was being passed - and even sold - to extremist groups.
Syria: ‘IS-free zone’
30 Jul 2015
The United States intends creating IS-free corridors in southern and northern Syria, and needs Turkey's cooperation on the northern corridor. The perceived goal is to wedge IS between the two corridors, erode it with air attacks and then eliminate it with offensive ground operations by the Free Syrian Army, the PYD militia, and Assad’s forces, with close US air support. The zone will be 100 kilometres wide and 40 kilometres deep. Calling it an ‘IS-free zone’ sends a message about its purpose and alleviates concerns of Russia, Iran and the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad. Ankara security says talks are ongoing on the status of the Kurdish PYD under the new plan and the nature of Turkish army actions inside Syria.
Iran’s Christians face persecution daily, and choosing to accept Jesus Christ means living a life of secrecy and constant fear. SAT-7, a Christian satellite television service to the Middle East and North Africa, created ‘God and the Persecuted’ to equip Iran’s house churches to persevere through persecution and develop techniques of endurance. The hosts are Rev Albert Aslan and Rev Edward Hovsepian. They use the Gospel and stories from church history to encourage underground believers in Iran through the television program. Each episode focuses on a topic relating to modern-day persecution, using stories from centuries of church history to show that this isn’t the first time that Christians have faced severe persecution, nor will it be the last. Pray for the Iranian house churches to be strong and continue to grow as they face adversity in a godly way.
An arrest followed the ‘rescue’ of five human trafficking victims in Belfast last week (see last week’s Prayer-Alert). A man was detained in the city and is being quizzed by specialist detectives about human trafficking, labour exploitation, gangmaster offences, and money laundering. Detectives from the Police Service of Northern Ireland's (PSNI) Human Trafficking Unit worked with colleagues in HM Revenue and Customs, the Gangmasters Licensing Authority, the Health and Safety Executive and local PSNI officers to carry out the rescue operation. Sixteen other men and women aged between 18 and 45, believed to have been trafficked from eastern Europe, were also rescued from agricultural premises in south Armagh during a separate raid. The victims are being cared for by Migrant Help and Women's Aid as part of the Department of Justice's human trafficking support network.
Police launched an operation on Tuesday after reports of council employees being involved in drugs misuse at a number of West Lothian Council premises. The men, aged 49, 43 and 34, were charged under the Misuse of Drugs Act and will be reported to the procurator fiscal. A spokesman for the council said it was ‘co-operating fully’ and it was not appropriate to comment further. Both drug and alcohol misuse are major public health problems in Scotland. On 30 June NHS Scotland reported, ‘The illicit use of opiates, benzodiazepines and psychostimulants causes significant problems within Scotland. These problems can be social in nature (crime, unemployment, family breakdown and homelessness) or associated with health problems (dependency, overdosing, mental health problems, injecting-related injuries and the transmission of communicable diseases).’ See: http://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Drugs-and-Alcohol-Misuse/Drugs-Misuse/
What does ‘taken into care’ mean?
30 Jul 2015
Some of the worst cases of child abuse have been uncovered in recent years, causing some social workers to put caution before common sense. Recently children are being taken from their parents on the slightest whiff of abuse, which for today’s social workers involves any sign of corporal punishment. But what happens then? The BBC website is carrying a video of an interview with Danielle, taken into care aged 11 in 1998 after marks from a belt were seen on her back. If that were punishment, it sounds excessive, but what subsequently happened to Danielle makes it seem like the ultimate in compassion. Danielle, now twenty-seven, was moved six times in six weeks, had twenty-nine moves by age sixteen, was raped three times whilst ‘in care’, and had an attempted rape aged eleven in a children’s home. She ran away aged thirteen but was brought back. The BBC report reveals shocking outcomes of many children in care.
Fear of talking about our faith to friends
30 Jul 2015
Simon Edwards, Assistant Chaplain of the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics, says that in Acts 24 they talked about Jesus wherever they went. When we think of evangelism, we think of sermons, crusades and events. But in Acts the gospel spread through relationships. Why is it a challenge talking to our family, friends and work colleagues about our faith? Ephesians 6 says that we are in a spiritual battle. Satan doesn't want us to share the gospel with others. In the UK, with a massive Christian heritage, why is there so much pressure not to talk about our faith? There’s social pressure in Britain to keep our faith private. There is also an inner instinct of self-preservation - the fear of being rejected, of offending, of being misunderstood, or being thought of as strange; and then there is an underlying fear that God is not going to show up.
Edinburgh Festival euthanasia machine not a joke
30 Jul 2015
Controversial assisted dying activist Dr Philip Nitschke, dubbed 'Dr Death', will perform at the Edinburgh Fringe festival using his euthanasia machine. Dr Nitschke will ask his audience - some of whom may be terminally ill - to try his 'Destiny' machine, to show them 'a peaceful and reliable means of death'. His apparatus is a version of the Deliverance machine he used in Australia, where he successfully campaigned to have a legal euthanasia law passed in the 1990s. At the time he helped four terminally-ill people end their lives. The law was overturned in 1997 by the Australian parliament. Last month police questioned Dr Nitschke amid concerns about the show's content. He was eventually cleared to perform at the Fringe throughout August. With seven days until his show opens, Scottish lawyers have been appointed to ensure he does not breach laws on advising, counselling or assisting others to commit suicide.