(A4c2) persecution of Christians

Christians are being persecuted and killed for their faith in greater numbers than ever before. ******* As of this date, 07-03-02, this folder contains 30 items. ******* item 1 BEATEN TO DEATH FOR DISTRIBUTING BIBLES (CHINA) ******* item 2 TALIBAN CUT CHRISTIAN'S THROAT FOR EVANGELIZING (AFGHANISTAN) ******* item 3 CHRISTIAN FAMILY AMBUSHED IN NIGERIA ******* item 4 HOLY LAND CHRISTIANS RAISE VOICES AGAINST ISLAMIC MAFIA ******* item 5 BEARING WITNESS - THE MARTYRS OF UGANDA ******* item 6 NAVY'S DEBATE OVER USE OF JESUS' NAME PLACES SPOTLIGHT ON PRIEST ******* item 7 SAUDI POLICE ARREST 40 PAKISTANI CHRISTIANS ******* item 8 AFGHAN CHRISTIAN FACES DEATH PENALTY ******* item 9 250 ERITREAN CHRISTIANS ARRESTED FOR ATTENDING A CHRISTIAN WEDDING ******* item 10 FIVE AMERICAN CHRISTIANS DETAINED IN CHINA ******* item 11 AMERICAN RED CROSS EMPLOYEE FIRED FOR NOT CELEBRATING HOMOSEXUALITY ******* item 12 FROM MUSLIM LEADER TO NIGERIAN EVANGELIST FOR CHRIST ******* item 13 THE ONGOING PERSECUTION OF OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST AROUND THE WORLD ******* item 14 VIOLENCE ERUPTS AGAINST PAKISTANI CHRISTIANS ******* item 15 NORTH KOREA CRUSHING CHURCHES ******* item 16 MESSAGE FROM BILL WHATCOTT ******* item 17 PRIESTS AND SEMINARIANS ARRESTED IN CHINA ******* item 18 WRENCHING GOOD OUT OF EVIL: THE STORY OF NIEN CHENG ******* item 19 AFGHANI CHRISTIAN FACING DEATH MAY BE RELEASED ******* item 20 "MODERATE" AFGHAN MUSLIM CLERICS CALL FOR MOB EXECUTION OF CHRISTIAN CONVERT ******* item 21 AFGHAN CHRISTIAN GRANTED ASYLUM IN ITALY ******* item 22 BELGIUM PROSECUTES FAITHFUL PRIEST FOR "ISLAMOPHOBIA" ******* item 23 WORLDWIDE PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS ON THE RISE ******* item 24 FREE THE PHILADELPHIA FOUR ******* item 25 CHRISTIAN TEEN BARELY ESCAPES DEATH AT THE HANDS OF HER OWN FAMILY ******* item 26 CHRISTIANITY UNDER ATTACK ******* item 27 CHINA DETAINS SEVEN CATHOLIC PRIESTS ******* item 28 CONFORMING RELIGION TO CHARTER (CANADA) ******* item 29 LESLIE BARTLEY'S COMMENTS ON ITEM 28 ******* item 30 CALIFORNIA WOMAN ORDERED TO REMOVE "MESSAGES FROM GOD " FROM HOUSE OR FACE FINES ********************************************************************************************************************** ******* item 1 BEATEN TO DEATH FOR DISTRIBUTING BIBLES (CHINA) ******* From: Robert A Jason ******* Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2004 ******* A 34-year-old woman was beaten to death in jail on June 18 after being arrested for handing out Bibles in the southwest Chinese province of Guizhou. According to news reports, Jiang Zongxiu was official arrested for "spreading rumours and inciting to disturb social order." Later that day, police informed her family that she had died of a sudden illness. Relatives report that her body was covered with bruises and blood stains. ******* The incident has sparked protests in Jiang's hometown, as local residents demand an investigation. This is the second report of a Christian being beaten to death by Chinese police in the past two months. On April 26, Gu Xianggao was beaten to death by Public Service Bureau (PSB) officers (see http://www.persecution.net/news/china48.html). ******* While Bibles are officially allowed in China, only a limited number are published and are not available for public distribution. ******* For more information on persecution facing Christians in China, go to http://www.persecution.net/country/china.htm. Testimonies and reports on Christianity in China can also be found on VOM's multimedia website at http://www.persecution.tv. ********************************************************************************************************************** ******* item 2 TALIBAN CUT CHRISTIAN'S THROAT FOR EVANGELIZING (AFGHANISTAN) ******* From: Robert A Jason ******* Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2004 ******* Taliban guerrillas in Afghanistan are claiming to have cut the throat of a Muslim cleric after they discovered he was propagating Christianity. Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi phoned Reuters on July 1, saying they killed Maulawi Assadullah the previous day, saying that they "enough evidence and local accounts" to prove that Assadullah was involved in converting Muslims to Christianity. Hakimi claimed that a number of foreign aid agencies were likewise involved in spreading Christianity and would face a similar fate. "We warn them that they face the same destiny as Assadullah if they continue to seduce people," he said. ******* Pray for the family and friends grieving the death of Assadullah. Pray for protection and wisdom for aid workers in Afghanistan. Pray that the Good News of Jesus Christ will continue to spread, despite these warnings. ******* For more information on persecution in Afghanistan, go to http://www.persecution.net/country/afghan.htm. ********************************************************************************************************************** ******* item 3 CHRISTIAN FAMILY AMBUSHED IN NIGERIA ******* From: "Conservative Petitions" ******* Date: Wed, 07 Sep 2005 ******* This ConservativePetitions.com Alert is a special message from The Voice of the Martyrs for Frank Wagner: ******* Davou Bulle, his wife, and their 10 children all climbed into the van, exhausted from another full day of work on their family's farm. He started to pull away but was soon jarred to attention by the sound of gunshots hitting the tires. They were being ambushed! ******* The Muslim attackers soon aimed their weapons at the driver, in hopes to first kill the Christian "infidel" then kill his entire family. In an attempt to protect his father, son Gyan lunged at the bullets to shield him but the bullets found their way to their intended target killing Davou. Gyan trying to help his father took 14 bullets during the ambush. Davou's wife Mary was hit in the eye and the jaw. ******* After the attack, the surviving children ran to the village to alert the police. Mary was taken into surgery immediately, removing two bullets from her eye and jaw. She lost one of her eyes as a result. Son Gyan was also operated on, removing all 14 bullets from his body; miraculously he survived. Davou left behind a wife - his widow Mary - and 10 children. ******* More than 10,000 Christians have been killed since 1999 in Nigeria and nearly 1,000 homes and churches have been burned down by Muslim radicals, all because of their faith in Jesus Christ. ******* Each month The Voice of the Martyrs reports on what is happening around the world to our brothers and sisters who are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. ********************************************************************************************************************** ******* item 4 HOLY LAND CHRISTIANS RAISE VOICES AGAINST �ISLAMIC MAFIA� ******* from [email protected] ******* date September 12 - 2005 ******* JERUSALEM, Holy Land, September 12 (CNA) - An �Islamic fundamentalist mafia� has been committing acts of violence and intimidation against Palestinian Christians in the Holy Land, says a document recently submitted by Holy Land Christians to Church leaders in Jerusalem. ******* Journalist Harry de Quetteville reported Sept. 9 that the document lists 93 alleged incidents of abuse by the mafia and 140 cases in which gangs, backed by corrupt judicial officials, allegedly forced Christians in the West Bank off their land. ******* One case from 2003 includes the torture and murder of two Christian girls who were deemed prostitutes. An autopsy found that they were virgins. ******* �The Christian community has always suffered in the last few years because we are a minority,� commented Fr. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Jerusalem's senior Franciscan, �Because of this many Christians seek to leave and the Christian presence in the Holy Land is shrinking.� ******* Christians currently form about two per cent of the population of the Holy Land. 60 years ago they formed 20 percent. ******* The confrontation is not with the entire Muslim community, Fr. Pizzaballa clarified, yet Christians have to raise their voices against violations of the law. ******* Reportedly, attacks on Christians have occurred despite repeated appeals to the Palestinian Authority. The document goes on to accuse the Palestinian Authority of doing nothing to rein in the situation. ******* A spokesman for the Apostolic Delegate, the Pope's envoy to Jerusalem, confirmed the lack of action on the part of the Palestinian Authority regarding this problem. ******* "The Apostolic Delegate presented a list of all the problems to Mr. [Yasser] Arafat before he died," he told de Quetteville. "He promised a lot but he did very little." ******* Samir Qumsieh told de Quetteville that Christian appeals to Arafat's successor as Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, have also gone unanswered. ******* Qumsieh works at the Christian television station in Bethlehem, but has also been working to repair relations between Palestinian Christians and Muslims through dialogue. ******* According to Qumsieh, Islamic fundamentalists and the organized criminal establishment are working together. ********************************************************************************************************************** ******* item 5 BEARING WITNESS - THE MARTYRS OF UGANDA ******* From: Chuck Colson via Robert A Jason ******* sent Monday, July 12, 2004 ******* One constant of Christian history is that persecution rarely, if ever, succeeds. While some Christians may succumb to the unimaginable pressures, many others are, as the Bible puts it, faithful unto death. ******* In turn, their witness, which is what the word martyr means, draws others to the faith. In the second century, the apologist Tertullian wrote, �Go on, rack, torture, grind us to powder: Our numbers increase in proportion as you mow us down. The blood of Christians is their harvest seed.� ******* A century ago, twenty-six young African Christians proved Tertullian right. In doing so, they not only set an example for their contemporaries, but for us also. ******* In the late 1800s, Anglican and Catholic missionaries brought Christianity to what is now Uganda. While, at first, people were free to convert to the new faith, conversion created problems for the converts. Becoming a Christian meant adopting new moral and religious standards and suggested that you had turned your back on old allegiances. As a result, Christians were often regarded as rebels of sorts. ******* Mistrust turned to persecution when a new king named Mwanga came to the throne. His court was infamous for its homosexual debauchery. Suddenly, not only were Christians undermining the old religious and political order, they had the temerity to criticize his sexual practices. ******* Events came to a head when the king�s pages began to resist his sexual advances. His outrage turned to murderous rage against Christianity when he learned why they had resisted: They had become Christians and were living chastely as their new faith required. ******* Mwanga gave the new converts a choice: complete obedience to his orders, including his sexual demands, or their new faith and death. They chose martyrdom. On June 3, 1886 , twenty-six converts between the ages of 13 and 30, Protestants and Catholics, were burnt to death. Their leader, Charles Lwanga, asked to be untied so he could arrange the sticks on his pyre. ******* While few remember the tyrant who martyred these Christians, the Martyrs of Uganda, as they are known, became heroes of the faith. Today, largely because of their witness, Uganda is a mostly Christian nation�one that is offended and scandalized by the easy acceptance of homosexuality that exists in some of our churches. ******* There�s a lesson for us as well. Christians in the West face pressure, albeit nothing like Lwanga and his companions, to play down Christianity�s moral demands, especially as regards sexual practices. We�re told that things will go better for us if we remain quiet about issues like abortion and homosexuality and gay �marriage.� ******* Those who do speak out are called �bigots,� but if Charles Lwanga could tell his executioner that he was glad to be dying for the faith, being called names, however unfairly, is a small price to pay. ******* Remembering these martyrs, the Church in Uganda and other parts of Africa stands firm in resisting the ordination of homosexuals and same-sex �marriages.� It�s costing them financial support, and reputations are being hurt, yet they stand with the martyrs in bearing witness to absolute truth and to God�s moral law. They are resisting the hostile spirit of the age. And they are a model for us all to follow. ********************************************************************************************************************** ******* item 6 NAVY'S DEBATE OVER USE OF JESUS' NAME PLACES SPOTLIGHT ON PRIEST ******* From: "NewsnBlues" ******* Date: Tue, 7 Feb 2006 ******* By David Yonke TOLEDO BLADE RELIGION EDITOR ******* Lt. Gordon James Klingenschmitt, a Navy chaplain, has become the focal point of the debate over a chaplain’s right to pray in the name of Jesus. ******* Lieutenant Klingenschmitt, 37, an Evangelical Episcopal priest from Buffalo, staged an 18-day hunger strike in front of the White House in December as the deadline approached for his Navy contract to be extended. ******* He said his superiors had punished him and called for his contract not to be renewed after 14 years in the service, largely because the chaplain had used Jesus’ name and quoted the Bible in public ceremonies. Navy chaplaincy guidelines call for generic references to God when leading prayers for a diverse group of sailors, especially when attendance is mandatory. ******* “This is the result of the political correctness movement,�? Lieutenant Klingenschmitt told The Blade this week. “My commanding officer told the Navy board to end my career, saying I overemphasized my own faith system in sermons and prayers. They also punished me, in writing, for quoting the Bible in chapel.�? ******* The day after he began his hunger strike, the Navy gave him a three-year contract. But it took 17 days of fasting — and media coverage — before the Navy agreed to let the chaplain wear his uniform while praying in Jesus’ name. ******* Lieutenant Klingenschmitt won his individual battle but said it cost him any chance for a promotion. ******* He is joining a larger effort that seeks to allow chaplains to worship and pray according to their own faith traditions, rather than following generic and pluralistic prayer texts. ******* More than 65 chaplains have joined a class-action lawsuit against the Navy alleging religious discrimination, saying they were passed over for promotion because their faith practices did not conform to the Navy’s pluralism policies. ******* Seventy five members of Congress, led by U.S. Rep. Walter Jones (R., N.C.), have signed a letter to President Bush asking him to sign an executive order allowing military chaplains to pray according to their faith traditions. ******* “The Navy is telling me I have to practice pluralism instead of the Christian faith, and they tell me my sermons and prayers have to be pluralistic and encompass all faiths,�? Lieutenant Klingenschmitt said. “That would violate my vows to my civilian bishop who wants me to practice my Christian faith. I wear a cross on my uniform, not a ‘P’ for pluralism.�? ******* The Navy Chaplains Corps in Norfolk, Va., did not return phone calls seeking comment. ******************************************************************************** ******* item 7 SAUDI POLICE ARREST 40 PAKISTANI CHRISTIANS - Preacher, house church host detained for questioning by Barbara G. Baker ******* From: Robert A Jason ******* Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 ******* ISTANBUL, April 25 (Compass) — Saudi Arabia’s religious police arrested 40 Pakistani Christians while the group met privately for worship last Friday morning in Riyadh. ******* The house church gathering was a joint Catholic-Protestant prayer service held weekly in Riyadh in recent years. It was hosted on April 22 in the Badeea district home of Saleem Sardar, a Pakistani Christian from Karachi now employed in Riyadh. ******* According to a Riyadh source, several carloads of muttawa (Islamic religious police) from the Committee for the Propagation and the Prevention of Vice raided the worship meeting just before noon on April 22. ******* Surrounding the house, the police halted the sermon being preached by a man identified only as Emmanuel. The muttawa then proceeded to beat some of the worshippers, upsetting the furniture and breaking Christian artifacts and symbols as they searched through the house. ******* “The group had a wooden cross displayed at the front of the room during their prayer services,�? a Pakistani clergyman told Compass. “The police made one little girl in the congregation hold that cross, mocking her and taking photographs of her which appeared in a local newspaper the next day.�? All the men, women and children present were detained and taken to the Dera police station. By evening, everyone had been released except Sardar and Emmanuel. ******* However, police authorities reportedly refused to return any of the Christians’ labor cards, used as official I.D.’s by the Kingdom’s 6 million or more guest workers. All of the group’s Bibles, hymnals, tapes and other Christian materials in the Urdu language were also confiscated. ******* Yesterday afternoon, Pakistani Christian sources in Riyadh confirmed that the two detained Christians were still being held by police authorities. But today the Pakistan Embassy in Riyadh told Compass that both men had been released last night. ******* At least two Saudi daily newspapers, Al Jazirah and Al Yaum, reported the raid the following day, declaring the practice of any religion other than Islam to be illegal. “It was not clear what measures might be taken against the group,�? a Reuters article filed on April 23 noted. ******* According to the investigating police officer, identified as Lt. Col. Saad Nawafal al-Rashid, the Christian house church raid was part of a wide-ranging security campaign which has recently uncovered a prostitution ring, two home-brew alcohol factories and a variety of drug caches. ******* The Pakistan Embassy downplayed the incident to Compass today, insisting that only 20 or 25 Christians were arrested, none of them children. The spokesman declared that no reports of beatings or mistreatment had been received and stressed that all the arrested Christians had been released. ******* Although the embassy official acknowledged that Saudi muttawa had made the arrests, he said he could not confirm that religious worship was “the exact reason for their arrest. But there may have been some suspicion because they kept on coming together on the weekend.�? ******* “We have already taken up this matter with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here, to give us a detailed report,�? a community welfare officer in the embassy stated. ******* “We are very upset over this news,�? a Pakistan church leader told Compass today. “Why do Saudi Muslims have the right all over the world to build mosques and worship in them, when they refuse to designate places of worship for Christians who are guest workers in Saudi Arabia, or even allow Christians to meet quietly in their homes without being harassed?�? ******* The Gulf kingdom refuses to allow any legal churches on its soil, although government officials defending this intolerant policy claim that adherents of other faiths can practice their beliefs in their own homes, provided they refrain from proselytizing. ******* Saudi Arabia has been sharply criticized by Western nations for fostering militancy and intolerance of other religions through its media and educational curriculum. Last September it was labeled by the U.S. State Department as one of eight countries guilty of “severe violations of religious freedom.�? ********************************************************************************* ******* item 8 AFGHAN CHRISTIAN FACES DEATH PENALTY - Man faces death penalty for becoming Christian © 2006 WorldNetDaily.com ******* Posted: March 19, 2006 ******* Despite ouster of Taliban by U.S., court still prosecutes ex-Muslim ******* Despite the fact the hardline Taliban regime is no longer in power, an Afghan man faces possible execution for allegedly abandoning his Islamic roots and becoming a Christian. ******* "Yes that's true, a man has converted to Christianity. He's being tried in one of our courts," Supreme Court judge Ansarullah Mawlavizada told the Middle East Times. ******* The case centers on Abdul Rahman, believed to be 41, who converted from Islam to Christianity some 16 years ago. His relatives reportedly notified authorities about the conversion. ******* The constitution in Afghanistan is based on Shariah law, which states any Muslim who rejects his or her religion should be sentenced to death. ******* "We are not against any particular religion in the world. But in Afghanistan, this sort of thing is against the law," the judge told the Associated Press. "It is an attack on Islam. ... The prosecutor is asking for the death penalty." ******* If he indeed is sentenced, Rahman would be the first person punished for leaving Islam since the Taliban was ousted by American-led forces in late 2001, in the wake of the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the U.S. ******* Prosecutor Abdul Wasi says he offered to drop the charges if Rahman made the switch back to Islam, but the defendant is maintaining his Christian beliefs. The judge is expected to rule within two months. ******* About 99 percent of Afghanistan's 28 million people are Muslims, with the rest mostly Hindus. ********************************************************************************* ******* item 9 250 ERITREAN CHRISTIANS ARRESTED FOR ATTENDING A CHRISTIAN WEDDING ******* From: Robert A Jason ******* Sent: Thursday, August 25, 2005 ******* LOS ANGELES, August 23 (Compass) -- Three months after 250 Christians were arrested in the Eritrean capital for attending a Protestant Christian wedding, 129 of them remain jailed under severe conditions. Initially 70 of the arrested guests identified themselves as members of the government-approved Orthodox, Catholic or Lutheran churches, after which police officials in Asmara released them. Some of the remaining prisoners had their Bibles confiscated and burned in front of them, and all were subjected to insults and mocking because of their faith. The male prisoners were reportedly beaten. A police station commander told the detainees they were in prison because they and their church leaders aimed to “disrupt the peace and unity of the Eritrean people�? and eventually overthrow the Eritrean government. In another crackdown, the national Security Office recently ordered all regional administrative offices to identify any Protestant Christians among those applying for new or renewed business licenses. ******************************************************************************** ******* item 10 FIVE AMERICAN CHRISTIANS DETAINED IN CHINA - Most picked up in raid on underground church meeting ******* Posted: August 19, 2005 © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com ******* Five American church workers were detained by authorities in northern China in raids on underground Protestant groups. ******* A church meeting was broken up in Luoyang in Henan province Monday, resulting in the detention of four Americans, including a married couple, and 27 Chinese citizens, reported the Texas-based Christian-persecution monitor China Aid Association. ******* In the nearby city of Yichuan, police detained another American, according to a local pastor, Wan Dagan. ******* The Texas group said it did not have the names of the Americans. The vast majority of Christians in China, perhaps as many as 100 million, are part of the unregistered church. The communist government requires all Protestant church activity to be under control of the official Three-Self Patriotic Movement, which restricts activities such as evangelism and certain teachings. ******* As WorldNetDaily reported, two Americans were roughed up by plain-clothes Chinese police during a raid of a house church earlier this month. According to China Aid, the raid came during a crackdown on house churches that has seen 210 Chinese house pastors and members arrested since last month. ******* In March, China deported at least 10 foreign church leaders, including eight Americans, and detained 140 Chinese house-church leaders in connection with a training event in the country. ******* More than 100 security officers from five government agencies raided an office building where the Christians were meeting Feb. 24 in a suburb of Harbin, a major city in northeastern China. ********************************************************************************** ******* item 11 AMERICAN RED CROSS EMPLOYEE FIRED FOR NOT CELEBRATING HOMOSEXUALITY - By Lindsey Douthit ******* From: Robert A Jason ******* Sent: Thu, 1 Sep 2005 ******* The Red Cross even has Corporate Diversity committees that oversee the implementation of a "diversity code." ******* The American Red Cross fired an employee, Michael Hartman, for expressing his disagreement with homosexuality. ******* Hartman had been a volunteer and donor for the Red Cross for over 30 years when he became an employee at the San Diego, California, center. He had been there for about eight months when, in the latter part of May 2005, a mass e-mail was sent to employees reminding everyone that June was Gay and Lesbian Pride Month and employees were encouraged to "observe" the celebration. The e-mail, distributed by Chief Diversity Officer David Wilkins, stated, "It is my pleasure to announce that June will be recognized as Gay and Lesbian Pride Month at national headquarters…It is only fitting that we reinforce our organization's commitment to inclusion…by recognizing this important group and celebrating the many accomplishments they have made to our organization…I'd like to take this opportunity during the month of June to encourage field units to extend their reach into gay and lesbian communities." ******* As a Christian, Hartman was concerned by the e-mail and expressed his sentiments to his female supervisor, "who did not care." He then e-mailed several head administrators, who immediately called him into the Red Cross regional center in Pomona, California. Hartman was reprimanded and told that his e-mail was "not appropriate." ******* The "inappropriate" e-mail that Hartman sent contained the following statements: "I would like to start by stating that I am a Christian not willing to compromise my beliefs to promote the agenda of the homosexual community. I would also like to say that I think it's disgraceful that while most of us [at the Red Cross] are trying to save lives, a select few are using this organization to promote their own lifestyles which in my opinion are unacceptable." ******* Hartman went on to say that if anyone reading his e-mail "is personally involved in this lifestyle…I think it's important that you know I have nothing against you as a person but the life you've chosen to live." He added Bible verses including Galatians 6:7 and Joshua 24:15. ******* After being reprimanded, Hartman took a week off of work because his mother, a U.S. Marine, had passed away. When he returned to the office, he noticed that Gay and Lesbian Pride posters were placed all over the office. In a later e-mail to the Pacific Justice Institute, an organization that Hartman contacted after his termination, he wrote, "One of my primary jobs is recruiting and promoting the Red Cross. Under the present circumstances I cannot promote something that harbors and encourages this sexual cancer, that we all know is eroding our society." ******* Convicted that he had to take action, Hartman "prayed about it" and put together an e-mail to the Southern California region of the Red Cross. In the e-mail, he reiterated, "I respect and value your opinions" but added, "as you explained to me, celebrating homosexual pride month is consistent with our recognition of Black History Month, Women's History Month, Older Americans Month, and Asian Pacific Islanders Heritage Month…I'm still struggling to see a correlation between celebrating Great Americans and celebrating a sexual preference." ******* He also suggested that since the Red Cross is "such a diversified organization," perhaps it should hold a Christian celebration. ******* He was put on "administrative leave" from work and called into another meeting with administrators. ******* James Hartline, an ex-homosexual who is now a Christian conservative activist, went with Hartman to the meeting to serve as a form of representation. The administrators refused to see Hartman unless he was by himself, and when he insisted upon having counsel at the meeting, he was dismissed and told that they would "reschedule" a time to speak with him. Two days later, he received his termination notice. ******* Hartman has experienced an intensely difficult year - two years ago, he lost all of his belongings in the California wildfires, and he recently lost his mother. A Sunday School teacher and father of three daughters, he said, "I realize what I'm up against, but I'll go the distance…So many have a complacent attitude, and our kids are facing the consequences." ******* He plans to seek help from Christian legal groups such as the Alliance Defense Fund. ******* Unfortunately, Hartman's legal options may be limited, as the Red Cross is a privately funded organization and may therefore exert its own prerogative in these matters. ******* The Red Cross even has its own body of Corporate Diversity committees that oversees the implementation of a "diversity code" for the organization. Employees must participate in "diversity training" seminars, and they are subject to the "diversity vision" of the Red Cross that includes "sexual orientation" on the list of "communities we serve." ******* "We are seeing an alarming double standard emerging in corporations and nonprofits," said Robert Knight, director of Concerned Women for America's Culture & Family Institute. "If you are not in a specially protected group, you don't get the same consideration. More and more, Christians are being harshly disciplined or even fired for actions that would bring a slap on the wrist to a homosexual activist or feminist." ******* It is important that Christians are alerted to this unfortunate situation. Many Christians give money or support to the American Red Cross without ever realizing that the organization openly promotes homosexuality. In the words of Michael Hartman, "If the public knew what was going on within the Red Cross I have no doubt their unselfish support would screech to a halt." Lindsey Douthit is a Ronald Reagan Memorial Intern with Concerned Women for America. She interviewed Michael Hartman over the phone on July 29, 2005. A representative for the Red Cross could not be reached for comment. ************************************************************************************** item 12 FROM MUSLIM LEADER TO NIGERIAN EVANGELIST FOR CHRIST by Obed Minchakpu - He was once warmly welcomed by his family; now they threaten to murder him. ******* From: Robert A Jason ******* Sent: Saturday, September 17, 2005 ******* JOS, Nigeria, September 16 (Compass) -- His father sent him to Saudi Arabia from Nigeria when he was 3 years old to be trained as an Islamic cleric, but God had other plans for Ahmed Abdullahi. ******* Raised in Saudi Arabia and born into a northern Nigeria family with several relatives who are Muslim clerics, Abdullahi was an unlikely candidate to become a Christian evangelist to African Muslims. His path to Christ, however, has carried him past all obstacles -- including the death sentence his family has pronounced over him -- to become just that. ******* Abdullahi has not seen his family in more than 20 years. Those who warmly embraced him when he returned from Saudi Arabia in 1980 as a learned, 30-year-old Muslim cleric felt they had no choice but to kill him when he turned to Christ. �When I told my people that I have decided to follow Jesus Christ, they planned to kill me, forcing me to run away,� Abdullahi told Compass. ******* Married to Margaret, founder and president of Home Makers Ministries International, an evangelical Christian ministry to women with international headquarters in Jos, Abdullahi now has his own Christian family. ******* Abdullahi was born in Keffi town in Nasarawa state in northern Nigeria. His father, a Muslim village leader, gave him away to a Saudi Muslim cleric, Muhammad Ado, when he was just 3 years old so that his son would be trained as a reputable Islamic cleric. Abdullahi received an Islamic education in Saudi Arabia, and when his guardian died he returned to his ancestral homeland in 1980. ******* His relatives were proud to have a knowledgeable Muslim leader in the family, but before long their joy was cut short. For the first time in his life, Abdullahi met Christians. ******* �I was surprised to see Christians, because in Islam, we know that the time of Isa [Jesus] had passed,� he said. This encounter with Christians aroused his curiosity, and he asked for a Bible to find out more about Jesus. ******* While on a visit to his brother, Alhaji Sule, then a worker with the Nigerian Railway Corporation in the city of Maiduguri in northern Nigeria, Abdullahi met a Catholic priest known to him only as Father Macaulay. The Rev. Fr. Macaulay gave him a copy of an Arabic Bible, as Abdullahi could not read in English. ******* �Having read the Bible, I prayed that God should show me the right path,� he said. �It appeared as in a dream, when I saw Christ, who appeared to me and was telling me that He has given me the truth which is contained in His word. I decided to become a Christian in 1984, after reading about the life of Christ in the Quran and the Bible.� ******* Rev. Fr. Macaulay prayed with Abdullahi, who committed fully to becoming a disciple of Christ. Abdullahi�s relatives mourned for him. They tried to persuade him to return to Islam. Having failed to convinced him to renounce Christianity, his family pronounced a death sentence on him in accordance with Islamic injunctions. ******* �Now I can no longer live with my people,� he said. �They told me that it is better for them to kill me than for them to live in shame of losing me, a member of the family, to the Christian faith. I knew I was definitely going to be killed, so I fled from my village.� ******* Though receiving Christ was the best thing that ever happened to him, he said, it has cost him everything. ******* �In Islam, when you deny Muhammad as a prophet of God, then you are supposed to be killed,� he said. �I knew this. But I had thought that since I was no longer in Saudi, my people would not treat me the way I would be treated in Saudi. I was wrong. I didn�t know that there is so much harassment that awaits converts to Christianity in Africa.� ******* Devastated and destitute, in order to survive Abdullahi sometimes returned to the mosque to pray -- and to get food. �But after years of persistence, I no longer have to go back,� he said. �I believe that my conversion is the work of God, for if it was not so, I would have returned to Islam because of hardship.� ******* In 1986, he got involved in the Kanuri Project, an evangelical evangelism ministry to Kanuri Muslims in northern Nigeria. Since then he has been an evangelist to Muslims in Cameroon, Chad, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo), Ghana, Benin Republic, Niger, Libya, Sudan, Morocco, and Togo, as well as Nigeria. Abdullahi�s outreaches have won converts from Islam and in some cases planted churches. His testimony resonates with Africans accustomed to interacting with spiritual powers. ******* �How did I know that my conversion was the work of the Holy Spirit, you may ask?� he said. �The truth is that, while I was a Muslim, I had powerful charms that could make me disappear at will. There were times I did not need to travel in a car. All I needed do is to think of where I wanted to be and I was there. So also, knives could not cut me. ******* �But when I became a Christian, I was baptized and suddenly I became powerless. All the powers I had disappeared. I then realized that I had been rendered powerless by powers that were greater than mine. I never knew that I could ever be rendered powerless, because I was assured in Islam that nobody can take those powers away from me.� ******* Abdullahi knows the consequences of his boldness to proclaim Christ among Muslims, but he is not afraid to die. �If I am killed as they plan to kill me, I know that death in Christ is a blessing, a gain,� he said. �I am not scared. Jesus Christ is my Lord, and he has given me the boldness to profess him anywhere I find myself.� ******************************************************************************* ******* item 13 THE ONGOING PERSECUTION OF OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST AROUND THE WORLD ******* From: Robert A. Jason ******* Sent: Thursday, October 06, 2005 ******* Two Arrested, One Tortured in China ******* The Communist government in China is continuing its oppression of unregistered church activity as evidenced in two separate incidents in late September. ******* On September 26, police in Henan Province, China arrested a house church pastor, Ma Yinzhou, in an attempt to force him to reveal the whereabouts of his son, Ma Shulei, a fulltime house church evangelist. Shulei turned himself in on October 2 in order to save his father. However, both are now being held in police custody. ******* On the morning on September 28, Tong Qimiao, a Christian businessman from Zhejiang Province, was questioned by security agents in Kashgar. Since he had no idea what they were asking him about, Qimiao was unable to give them the information they were seeking. Consequently, the police seriously beat him and left him with a broken chest bone. Now in hospital, Tong has been threatened and forced to sign a statement that he was never beaten during interrogation. ******* Pray that Ma Yinzhou and Ma Shulei will be released from prison and will be able to carry on their ministry. Pray for that they will be able to minister to those they will meet while in custody. Pray for physical healing for Tong Qimiao. Pray that he will be able to stand firm in his faith in the midst of the suffering that he is facing. ******* For more information on these stories and other accounts of persecution facing Christians in China, go to http://www.persecution.net/country/china.htm. The Voice of the Martyrs has a variety of video clips from China freely available on their multimedia website, www.persecution.tv. ******************************************************************************** ******* item 14 VIOLENCE ERUPTS AGAINST PAKISTANI CHRISTIANS ******* From: The Voice of the Martyrs, Canada http://www.persecution.net via Robert A. Jason ******* Wednesday, November 16, 2005. ******* To view a full-color version of the Persecution & Prayer Alert, including photographs, go to http://www.persecution.net/pnp.htm. ******* Three churches, a convent and other Christian-owned buildings were destroyed by a mob of over 1000 angry Muslims in Sangla Hill, a community 70 km west of Lahore, on November 12. The incident began when Yousaf Masih was accused of setting fire to a room full of Islamic books, including several copies of the Quran. Yousaf denies the charges. ******* Spurred on by calls from Islamic leaders over mosque loudspeakers to punish the infidels, the Muslim crowd destroyed local Salvation Army, United Presbyterian and Catholic church buildings, a convent, a Christian school, a hostel and several Christian homes. Rather than providing protection, reports say that police officers joined in the anti-Christian violence. Hundreds of Christians have fled the community. There are no reports of anyone being injured or killed. ******* In a situation that has struck fear in the hearts of God's people, pray that those affected by the violence will know the Lord to be their Prince of Peace. Pray that they will find encouragement and comfort in their places of refuge. Pray that authorities will support true justice by enforcing civil relationships in the community. Pray that the Lord will turn this situation around and transform it in to a testimony of His love and grace. Pray that local believers will soon be able to rebuild their lives and their influence in the community. ******* For more details on this incident, as well as information on the persecution facing Christians in Pakistan, go to http://www.persecution.net/country/pakistan.htm. ******************************************************************************** ******* item 15 NORTH KOREA CRUSHING CHURCHES Christians executed in front of schoolchildren BY Peter Goodspeed - National Post - Friday, November 18, 2005 ******* From: TakeBackCanada via "Robert A. Jason" ******* North Korea Crushing Churches A U.S government report says North Korea is raising religious persecution to the same heights as ancient Rome. While the Romans threw Christians to the lions for sport, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom says North Korea's leaders settle for snap trials followed by firing squads or simply crushing the heads of underground church leaders under a steamroller. ******* In the same week U.S. President George W. Bush is touring Asia to call for increased political freedom, the independent U.S. government commission issued a report claiming North Korea is waging all-out war on religion and free thought. The reports says there are only three formal churches in North Korea's capital, Pyongyang, but they are primarily for show and are visited only by foreigners and the elderly. ******* Everywhere else, the North Korean government is engaged in the forceful suppression of religious and intellectual life. Relying on eyewitness accounts from 40 recent refugees who fled to South Korea via China, the commission says North Korea has created a reign of terror to crush any religious belief that might challenge the god-like authority of leader Kim Jong Il. ******* The mere possession of a Bible can bring a death sentence, while attending a secret underground church service can result in gruesome public executions. One eyewitness told commission investigators he witnessed five Christian church leaders being executed by being run over by a steamroller in front of a crowd of spectators. The underground church leaders were told, "If you abandon religion and serve only Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, you will not be killed," said the witness, a soldier in a local construction battalion. "None of the five said a word. Some of the fellow parishioners [who were] assembled to watch the execution cried, screamed out or fainted when the skulls made a popping sound as they were crushed beneath the steamroller." ******* In another case, a woman told of being forced to witness the 1997 firing squad execution of a young woman and her father near where the Seong Cheon River runs into the Tumin River. The young woman had been washing clothes by the river when she accidentally dropped a Bible she had hidden in her laundry. After three months of interrogation, she and her father were put on trial in a marketplace, condemned as traitors and executed on the spot in front of an assembled crowd of schoolchildren and their teachers. ******* A former policeman described how he was involved in the arrests of 11 church members. Two of them were tortured to death during interrogation, while the others were executed, he said. ******* In the early 20th century, religious life flourished in North Korea, the report says. Religious groups played an essential role in uniting Koreans opposed to Japanese colonial rule, but the churches were viewed as political competitors by Kim Il Sung's Korean Workers Party. When North Korea's founder came to power after the Second World War, he labelled the churches "counterrevolutionary" and crushed them. ******* Ever since, North Korea has promoted a personality cult that has virtually deified Kim Il Sung and his son and successor, Kim Jong Il. North Korean newspapers have carried stories claiming North Korean sailors have been saved at sea during terrible storms by simply gathering on storm-tossed decks to sing the praises of Kim Il Sung. And the country's official histories claim that when Kim Jong Il was born on Mount Paektu, a sacred mountain on the border with China, a double rainbow appeared in the sky, along with a single bright star, to herald his birth. "Having faith in God is an act of espionage," one North Korean refugee told the U.S. commission's investigators. "Kim Il Sung is a god in North Korea." "The Kim dynasty is much more than an authoritarian government," the commission report says. "It also holds itself out as the ultimate source of power, virtue, spiritual wisdom and truth for the North Korean people. ******* Heterodoxy and dissent are repressed, quickly and efficiently, with punishments meted out to successive generations of the dissident's family. "This study provides compelling evidence of the systematic denigration of religious life in North Korea and of ongoing abuses of the freedom of thought, conscience and religion or belief," the report adds. ******* The commission is a bipartisan government body that monitors religious practices overseas in relation to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The release of the U.S. report coincides with a UN General Assembly vote yesterday in which member states expressed "serious concern" over human rights violations in North Korea. The General Assembly's social and humanitarian committee approved a resolution put forward by the European Union raising concerns over the use of torture, public executions and restrictions on freedom of thought and religion. The final vote was 84 to 22, with 62 countries abstaining. South Korea abstained and China voted against. ******* © National Post 2005 ******* Source: http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=5af3e8a1-30ed-4726-9643-e04eec4e3879 ******************************************************************************** ******* item 16 MESSAGE FROM BILL WHATCOTT ******* From: "Robert A. Jason" ******* Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2005 ******* Dear Friends:Please pray for the suffering North Korean Christians. Sometimes we in North America believe a sign of God's favour and superior faith is attaining a $60,000 a year job, a nice house, and a car. The truth is Christians in most of the world forfeit worldly comforts to follow our Lord in a life of suffering, which in many cases includes hunger, homelessness, even torture, imprisonment, and death, Hebrews 11:13-39, 13:3. ******* A true sign of Biblical faith is not how much money you have or what kind of job you attain. A true sign of faith would be one's willingness to endure suffering, rejection, and loss in this life, in hopes of attaining something so much better in the life to come, Romans 8:17 - 19. ******* Sincerely Bill Whatcott ******************************************************************************** ******* item 17 PRIESTS AND SEMINARIANS ARRESTED IN CHINA ******* From: The Voice of the Martyrs, Canada http://www.persecution.net via Robert A. Jason ******* Sent: Thursday, November 24, 2005 ******* To view a full-color version of the Persecution & Prayer Alert, including photographs, go to http://www.persecution.net/pnp.htm. ******* On November 12, 2005 Chinese authorities arrested a Catholic priest, Father Yang Jianwei, and ten seminarians in a village near Xushui City in Hebei province, according to a report from Cardinal Kung Foundation. No indication has been given as to the reasons for the arrests. On November 15, six of the seminarians, who were not from the area, were released and sent to their homes. The other four, along with Yang, remain in custody. ******* These arrests, along with several others in recent days, come at a time when religious freedom in China has been prominently featured in the international news. Glenn Penner, spokesman for The Voice of the Martyrs Canada, said he was encouraged when he heard U.S. President Bush stressing the need for religious freedom in China during his recent visit to the country. ******* At the same time Latin American evangelist Luis Palau was also visiting China as a guest of the Chinese government and made some rather controversial statements questioning religious persecution in China. To read Glenn Penner's response to Palau's remarks, see his commentary at http://www.persecution.net/weblog.htm. Also check out his November 11 weblog on international trade on countries like China. ******* Ask God to give Yang and the students the strength in Christ they will need to remain joyful in their suffering. Pray that those in prison would be protected from harm, that their practical needs would be met, and that they would be released soon. Ask the Lord to give them boldness to speak the truth in love, even to their persecutors. Pray that the eyes of the free world will be opened to the fact that persecution is a serious problem in China and do everything possible to support religious freedom there. ******* The Voice of the Martyrs has a number of books and DVDs on the church in China available on our online resource catalog. Go to http://www.persecution.net/catalog.htm. ******* For more information on the persecution of China's Christians, go to http://www.persecution.net/country/china.htm. ********************************************************************************* ******* item 18 WRENCHING GOOD OUT OF EVIL: THE STORY OF NIEN CHENG ******* From: Robert A. Jason ******* Sent: Monday, December 26, 2005 ******* http://www.pfm.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=BreakPoint1&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=17577 ******* On the evening of August 30, 1966, Nien Cheng sat alone in her Shanghai home, reading. Toward midnight, she heard a truck stop in front of her house. Moments later a gang of Red Guards burst through her front door. The leader stepped up. “We are the Red Guards. We have come to take revolutionary action against you!�? he said. ******* The gang proceeded to ransack Cheng’s home. Cheng—a wealthy woman with ties to England—was thrown in prison; her daughter was also taken from her. She was accused by the Communist government of spying for the British. The charge was false—but powerful people were about to make her a sacrificial lamb, somebody who would discredit Chairman Mao’s opponents. ******* At a kangaroo court, the prosecutor demanded that Cheng confess. She was outraged. “I have never done anything against the Chinese people and governments,�? she declared. ******* Cheng was taken back to prison. It was the beginning of seven years of torture, illness, and endless efforts to make her confess. But Cheng resolved never to make a false confession. Although raised Buddhist, she had become a Christian as a teenager. During her years behind bars, she later wrote, “I was not afraid. I believed in a just and merciful God, and I thought he would lead me out of the abyss.�? ******* As I note in my new book, The Good Life, Cheng’s captors were astounded at her ability to resist. Here she was, the poster child of the decadent capitalists; they were certain that someone who enjoyed her privileges would crumble once the material props of her old life were removed. ******* But the measure of Cheng’s life was not found in what she owned. During her suffering, one thing kept her sane: her belief in the truth. Through committing herself to the truth, she never lost her humanity—and she remained unaffected by the appalling changes in her circumstances. ******* Cheng’s embrace of the truth also allowed her to envision that justice would eventually prevail, and that good could come out of this evil. In this, Cheng was fortified, of course, by her Christian faith. Alone among the world’s great religions, Christianity gives value and meaning to evil and suffering. British novelist Dorothy Sayers captured the essence of this. Christianity, she wrote “affirms . . . that perfection is attained through the active and positive effort to wrench a real good out of a real evil.�? This is the essence of what Christians call redemption, and it underscores another truth: We have to understand the evil in ourselves before we can truly embrace the good in life. ******* In 1973, Cheng was finally released and later immigrated to America. I had the privilege of hosting a dinner that Prison Fellowship gave in her honor in 1987. ******* Nien Cheng’s life perfectly illustrates the fact that the good life is not conferred by wealth or possessions. Just as important, it cannot be denied even in the midst of horrific adversity. In fact, as I discovered in my life, we often find true meaning and purpose in deprivation, when all the distractions of modern life are stripped away. ******* The good life, you see, is realized in our ability to hold fast to the truth—and the human dignity that rests upon it. ******************************************************************************** ******* item 19 AFGHANI CHRISTIAN FACING DEATH MAY BE RELEASED by Pete Winn ******* From: Focus on the Family Copyright © 2006. All rights reserved. International copyright secured. via "Robert A. Jason" ******* Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 ******* Abdul Rahman is on trial for converting from Islam to Christianity. ******* Western and Middle Eastern news agencies reported today that an Afghani Christian on trial for converting from Islam will apparently be released in the coming days. ******* "He is likely to be released soon," an unnamed Afghan official said today, adding there would be a top-level meeting on the matter Saturday. ******* The news was confirmed by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who said Afghanistan's president, Hamid Karzai, personally assured him that Abdul Rahman, who converted to Christianity 15 years ago, will not be put to death. ******* Harper, who recently visited Afghanistan, said Karzai "conveyed to me that we don't have to worry about any such eventual outcome." ******* American officials expressed relief. ******* "I'm encouraged by the news," U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., told CitizenLink today. "But we're not out of the woods yet." ******* DeMint, who in recent days joined colleagues in advocating for Rahman's release, praised Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for working behind the scenes on the man's behalf. ******* "The Middle Eastern countries don't want to bullied," DeMint said, "and if they appear to cave in to bullying, then there's not much respect from their people or other nations, so I think it was important that Secretary Rice handled it the way she did. There's been a good deal of media attention, but hopefully the Afghans can get out of this in a way that doesn't humiliate them." ******* Rahman, who was arrested two weeks ago and went on trial last week when his Christianity became known, has faced possible execution under Islamic law, known as Shariah, unless he renounces his conversion and returns to Islam. ******* His cause has been taken up by representatives of many faiths, including evangelical Christians. ******* Earlier today, at a rally in front of the Afghani embassy in Washington , D.C. , Bill Saunders, human rights counsel at the Family Research Council, pleaded for Rahman's life. ******* "There is not a more fundamental principle to Americans than the freedom of religion," he said. "This is about more than Abdul Rahman. This is about ensuring the basic human rights of all Abdul Rahmans." ******* Robert Spencer, author of the "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam," said the idea that a Muslim might be executed for converting to another faith is not some extremist view of radical fringe Islamic extremists. It's a central tenet of the Muslim faith. ******* "It's not a surprising thing that Rahman would face a death penalty given traditional Islamic law that mandates death for anybody who leaves Islam," Spencer said. "It's based on the words of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, himself, who said, 'If anyone changes his religion, kill him.' " ******* There is a fundamental difference, Spencer added, between Christianity and Islam when it comes to concepts like justice and mercy. He explained it by contrasting the biblical story of the adulterous woman with a similar story in Muslim literature. ******* "In the Gospel of John, a woman who was caught in the act of adultery was taken to Jesus, and He says, famously, 'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.' And she is released," Spencer said. ******* "In the parallel (Muslim) story, a woman actually comes to Muhammad and confesses her adultery, and he tells her, 'Go away; find out if you are pregnant.' She comes back and says she's pregnant. He says, 'Go away until the child is born.' She comes back when the child is born. And he says, 'Go away until the child is weaned.' She comes back when the child is weaned — and he orders her stoned to death." ******* DeMint, meanwhile, said this is not the first time Shariah law has come up against international law, and he called on Muslim leaders around the world to "step up to the plate" and demonstrate to the world that they will allow religious freedom. ******* "It is clear that the Muslims are settling in all countries, including the United States , and they are expecting religious freedom where they are," he said. "But in many places where Muslims are in charge — especially in charge of the government — they are not granting those same freedoms. ******* "I hope this is an example to other countries that the kind of outrageous thing that happened in Afghanistan is not going to be accepted by, really, any country in the world." ************************************************************************************************************ ******* item 20 "MODERATE" AFGHAN MUSLIM CLERICS CALL FOR MOB EXECUTION OF CHRISTIAN CONVERT by Hilary White ******* from "Robert A. Jason" ******* Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2006 ******* KABUL, March 24, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Abdul Rahman, an Afghani former medical aid worker and Christian convert may be “torn to pieces�? at the instigation of Muslim clerics whether or not he is legally acquitted of the capital crime of converting away from Islam. Rahman was denounced to authorities for his conversion by his family during a custody dispute. ******* Senior Muslim clerics in Afghanistan are calling for Rahman’s death by a mob if he does not recant his Christianity. Although US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, President Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and representatives from Italy, Germany and Australia have urged him to protect religious freedom, Afghan President Hamid Karzai is under pressure from conservative Islamic groups and leaders not to be seen to bow to pressure from the west. ******* Trial judge Ansarullah Mawlazezadah told Stephen Harper, “The religion of Islam is one of tolerance,�? therefore, if he recants his Christian faith, he will not be executed. ******* Reuters reports that a group of clerics generally considered to be “moderate�? - including a fomer prime minister of Afghanistan - met in a Kabul hotel and issued a statement demanding that Rahman be executed. Cleric Enayatullah Baligh said at Kabul's main mosque, “We won't let anyone interfere with our religion, and he should be punished.�? Reuters says that the popular mood in Kabul is that Rahman should be executed for “insulting Islam.�? ******* "Rejecting Islam is insulting God. We will not allow God to be humiliated. This man must die," said cleric Abdul Raoulf, who is considered a moderate. ******* The Afghan constitution says "no law can be contrary to the sacred religion of Islam". At the same time, it says the country must abide by international agreements which include those upholding human rights and freedom of religion. ******* The Afghan authorities, however, are aware of the pressure from the countries bankrolling Afghanistan’s recovery and are seeking a way to have Raman released. One prosecutor suggested that there were “questions�? regarding Raman’s mental condition indicating that he may be released on the grounds of insanity, a mitigating consideration in Islamic law. ******* Muslim leaders are not buying it however. The Associated Press quotes the chief cleric at Haji Yacob Mosque saying, “He is not crazy. He went in front of the media and confessed to being a Christian.�? ******* �?The government is scared of the international community," he said. "But the people will kill him if he is freed.�? ******* Afghan clerics have continued the call for Rahman’s execution in their Friday prayers at Mosques, while German Chancellor, Angela Merkel told reporters at a news conference that she had received assurances Rahman would not be sentenced to death. ******* In the meantime, US Christian groups are calling on President Bush to do more to protect Rahman’s life. ******* “That there should even be such a trial is an outrage. How can we congratulate ourselves for liberating Afghanistan from the rule of jihadists only to be ruled by radical Islamists who kill Christians?�? Family Research Council president Tony Perkins said in a statement. ******************************************************************************** ******* item 21 AFGHAN CHRISTIAN GRANTED ASYLUM IN ITALY by DANIEL COONEY ******* Mar 29, 2006 ******* from Robert A. Jason ******* KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - Afghanistan's parliament demanded Wednesday that the government prevent a man who faced the death penalty for abandoning Islam for Christianity from being able to flee the country. Italy granted asylum to Abdul Rahman, 41, and the Foreign Ministry said he would arrive there "soon," maybe within the day. ******* Rahman was released from prison Monday after a court dropped charges of apostasy against him because of a lack of evidence and suspicions he may be mentally ill. President Hamid Karzai had been under heavy international pressure to drop the case. ******* Rahman was released from the high-security Policharki prison on the outskirts of the capital late Monday. Justice Minister Mohammed Sarwar Danish said Tuesday that Rahman was staying at a "safe location" in Kabul. ******* His current whereabouts were unknown. ******* The Italian government granted asylum to Rahman after Muslim clerics called for his death. ******* "I say that we are very glad to be able to welcome someone who has been so courageous," Premier Silvio Berlusconi said. ******* Afghan lawmakers debated the issue Wednesday and said Rahman should not be allowed to leave the country. However, they did not take a formal vote on the issue. ******* "We sent a letter and called the Interior Ministry and demanded they not allow Abdul Rahman to leave the country," parliamentary speaker Yunus Qanooni told reporters on behalf of the entire body. ******* Interior Ministry officials could not immediately be reached for comment. ******* Rahman was put on trial last week for converting 16 years ago while he was a medical aid worker for an international Christian group helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan. He was carrying a Bible when arrested and faced the death penalty under Afghanistan's Islamic laws. ******* The case caused an outcry in the United States and other nations that helped oust the hard-line Taliban regime in late 2001 and provide aid and military support for Karzai. ******* Muslim clerics condemned Rahman's release, saying it was a "betrayal of Islam," and threatened to incite violent protests. ******* Some 500 Muslim leaders, students and others gathered Wednesday in a mosque in southern Qalat town and criticized the government for releasing Rahman, said Abdulrahman Jan, the top cleric in Zabul province. ******* He said the government should either force Rahman to convert back to Islam or kill him. ******* "This is a terrible thing and a major shame for Afghanistan," he said. ******* Rahman has appealed to leave Afghanistan, and the United Nations has been working to find a country willing to take him. ******* Italy has close ties with Afghanistan, whose former king, Mohammed Zaher Shah, was allowed to live in exile in Rome with his family for 30 years. The former royals returned to Kabul after the Taliban fell. ******* The United States and Germany welcomed Rahman's release from prison. ******* "Obviously it's good news that he has been released," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. ******* Germany, a major donor to Afghanistan that has about 2,000 troops in the NATO security force, also expressed satisfaction. ******* "I think this is a sensible signal to the international community but also for the situation in Afghanistan," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. ******************************************************************************** ******* item 22 BELGIUM PROSECUTES FAITHFUL PRIEST FOR "ISLAMOPHOBIA" By Paul Belien www.brusselsjournal.com ******* From: Robert A. Jason ******* Sent: Thursday, April 06, 2006 ******* One of the rare Belgian churches that is packed every weekend is the church of Saint Anthony of Padova in Montignies-sur-Sambre, one of the poorest suburbs of Charleroi, a derelict rust belt area to the south of Brussels. Holy Mass in Montignies is conducted in Latin and lasts up to four hours. ******* Yesterday over 2,000 people attended the service by Father Samuel (Père Samuel). The priest's sermon dealt with his persecution. The Belgian authorities are bringing the popular priest to court on charges of racism. Father Samuel has been prosecuted for "incitement to racist hatred" by the Belgian government's inquisition agency, the so-called Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism (CEOOR), because of a remark he made in a 2002 television interview when he said: ******* "Every thoroughly islamized Muslim child that is born in Europe is a time bomb for Western children in the future. The latter will be persecuted when they have become a minority." ******* Last Thursday the Belgian judiciary decided that the priest will have to stand trial before the penal court in Charleroi. He reacted by repeating his time bomb statement and added that he would be honoured if he had to go to jail for speaking his mind. He added that Jesus, too, had been convicted. During yesterday's sermon he called upon the faithful to accompany him to court. "We will turn this into an excursion, driving there in full buses." ******* Father Samuel's passport gives his name as Charles-Clément Boniface. That is not entirely correct. He was born in 1942 in Midyat, Turkey, as Samuel Ozdemir. The latter is a surname the priest dislikes because, he explains, it was imposed on his family by the Turks. Samuel was a Christian: "At home we spoke Aramaic, the language of Jesus." The Aramaics are a Catholic minority in Syria and Turkey. They speak an old Semitic language, which Jesus and the apostles used and which Mel Gibson had his actors use in his movie The Passion of the Christ. ******* Young Samuel became a Catholic priest. In the mid-1970s he fled to Belgium, claiming that the Aramaic Christians were being persecuted in Turkey. He became a Belgian and adopted the surname of Boniface -- "he who does good things." He was appointed to the diocese of Tournai, but soon became caught up in the culture war between Christians and secularists. Tournai is a thoroughly secularised, modernist diocese. Father Samuel clashed with the bishop, who suspended him in 2001. He then bought the St-Antoine-de-Padoue church in Montignies-sur-Sambre. There he conducts the Mass according to the traditional rites of the Catholic Church. ******* Hundreds of faithful from all over the country and even from the north of France attend Sunday Mass in Montignies-sur-Sambre. The congregation includes African immigrants, a large number of young people and many young families with small children. In his sermons and on his website Father Samuel speaks out against secularism, but also fights on another front of the three-way culture war, warning against "the islamic invasion" of the West. He says he has witnessed in Turkey what the future has in store for Europe. He claims Muslims are invading Europe and warns for an impending civil war. According to Father Samuel "so-called moderate Muslims do not exist." ************************************************************************************************************* ******* item 23 WORLDWIDE PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS ON THE RISE - At Least 55,000 Christians Are Killed for their Faith Every Year - By Wolfgang Polzer, Special to ASSIST News Servicehttp://www.assistnews.net/Stories/s06060135.htm ******* From: "Tony Gosgnach" via Robert A. Jason ******* Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2006 ******* DRESDEN (ANS) -- The number of persecuted Christians is on the rise worldwide, according to Professor Thomas Schirrmacher, director of the Religious Liberty Commission of the German Evangelical Alliance. ******* Three in four cases of severe persecution are targeted at Christians, said Schirrmacher in a lecture at a gathering of the Protestant Association of the Christian Democratic Union in Dresden. ******* According to Schirrmacher at least 55,000 Christians are killed each year for religious reasons. Christians in India, Indonesia and Pakistan run the highest risk of losing their lives. ******* Schirrmacher encouraged politicians to increase their efforts for religious freedom. They were often reluctant to address the persecution and discrimination of Christians in Islamic countries in case this may jeopardize religious dialog. ******* Schirrmacher is convinced that interest in religion is rising worldwide: "The Communist atheistic realm has shrunk to small countries like North Korea". Christianity is experiencing phenomenal growth outside the Western world. ******* Many Chinese intellectuals, for instance, regard the Christian faith as "trendy", said Schirrmacher. The number of worshippers in China exceeds the Sunday service attendance in Europe. ******* Since 1970 the number of Christians has tripled in Africa and Asia and doubled in Latin America. ******* Because of the decreasing numbers in Europe these developments are not very noticeable on a world scale. Christianity grows annually by 1.25 percent, roughly in line with the population growth of 1.22 percent. ******* Wolfgang Polzer (56), is senior news editor of the Evangelical News Agency idea, Wetzlar (Germany), which he joined in 1981. In all, he has spent 30 years in Christian media. Wolfgang can be contacted by e-mail at: [email protected]. ********************************************************************************************************* ******* item 24 FREE THE PHILADELPHIA FOUR � 2004 WorldNetDaily.com ******* From: [email protected] ******* Date: Tue, 21 Dec 2004 ******* I'm amazed when seemingly intelligent people tell me they still think the American Civil Liberties Union is a group that fights for First Amendment freedoms no matter whose ox is being gored. ******* If that's the case, why is the ACLU not filing amicus briefs in Philadelphia where four Christians are facing 47 years in jail for expressing their free-speech rights? ******* That's right. Four Christians are facing 47 years in prison for peacefully quoting the Bible, an action an unglued local prosecutor determined to be "fighting words" when cited among homosexual activists. ******* It all started Oct. 10, when a total of 11 members of Repent America attended a homosexual street festival called "Outfest." ******* The group, ranging in age from 17 to 72, was surrounded at times by the organizers' security force, known as the "Pink Angels." ******* Videotapes and still photos taken at the event show the Pink Angels blocking the path of the Repent America members, shouting at them, blowing whistles and so forth. The Christians remain peaceful and calm at all times, despite what appears to be extraordinary provocation, intimidation and harassment. ******* Guess who was arrested? ******* That's right. The Christians. ******* And they've been charged with a long list of felonies and hate crimes that would make the Founding Fathers spin in their graves. ******* Repent America director Michael Marcavage is charged with three felonies – criminal conspiracy, ethnic intimidation and riot. (If you're wondering what "ethnic intimidation" means at a homosexual event, you have to understand the city of Philadelphia has extended hate crime laws to protect the sexually aberrant as well as racial minorities.) He was also hit with five misdemeanors for walking on the city sidewalks and quoting Holy Scriptures. ******* Mark Diener and James Cruse are charged with criminal conspiracy, failure to disperse, disorderly conduct and obstructing highways. Dennis Green is charged with criminal conspiracy, disorderly conduct and obstructing highways. The criminal conspiracy charge links all the defendants together so that Marcavage's "ethnic intimidation" hate-crime charge will apply to all of them. ******* This is one of the most brazen, frontal attacks on religious freedom and free speech I have seen in my lifetime. If these charges stand, Christians across America will soon be hunted down like dogs as they are in many parts of the world today as the most persecuted religious group on the planet. ******* It's ironic that this persecution would take place in Philadelphia, the so-called "City of Brotherly Love." ******* Of course, Philadelphia wasn't always so inhospitable to Christians. ******* It's worth remembering the very first legislative act in Pennsylvania, April 25, 1682. It was called the Great Law of Pennsylvania, and great it was. ******* "Whereas the glory of Almighty God and the good of mankind is the reason and the end of government, and, therefore government itself is a venerable ordinance of God ... [there shall be established] laws as shall best preserve true Christian and civil liberty, in opposition to all unchristian, licentious, and unjust practices, whereby God may have his due, and Caesar his due, and the people their due, from tyranny and oppression." ******* If indeed the Philadelphia 4 are convicted and sentenced to hard time, Christians need to march on the Philadelphia courthouse, encircle it, blow the trumpets and prepare to watch God work a miracle like He did at Jericho. ******* We should do this not just for the injustice to the four Philadelphia Christians, but because no one in America, not Christians or non-Christians, not black or white, not homosexual or heterosexual, will truly be free. We will be living in a country where people can be imprisoned arbitrarily for breaking no law other than the law of "political correctness." ******* If we're going to save freedom in America, it's going to take a miracle. ******* Will you come to Philadelphia? ********************************************************************************************************* ******* item 25 CHRISTIAN TEEN BARELY ESCAPES DEATH AT THE HANDS OF HER OWN FAMILY ******* Brought to you by The Voice of the Martyrs via "Conservative Petitions" ******* Date: Wed, 04 May 2005 ******* Diana grew up in a strict Islamic family in Pakistan. Her life was pretty typical until she met a girl named Mary who was a Christian. Now Diana is also a Christian and on the run. ******* When Diana's family learned that she had become a Christian, they repeatedly beat her and insisted she return to Islam. But Diana refused. She was then forced to a local canal where her uncle put a pistol to her head and gave her one last chance to return to Islam. Diana replied, "You can kill me if you want. I will not leave Christ." ******* It was then that Diana's uncle noticed an extremely poisonous black cobra swimming in the canal. Believing he could escape any prosecution for his niece's death, he threw her into the path of the cobra. He also knew she could not swim. ******* Diana miraculously escaped from the canal and is in hiding today. She is a new Christian but has already learned what it means to suffer for Christ. She recently told The Voice of the Martyrs, "Jesus was crucified for us. Can we not endure some of the same for Him?" ******* Every month The Voice of the Martyrs reports on what is really happening around the world where our brothers and sisters are persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. Now you can receive a free subscription to The Voice of the Martyrs award winning monthly newsletter. You will be inspired, you will learn to pray and even discover practical ways to get involved. ********************************************************************************************************* ******* item 26 CHRISTIANITY UNDER ATTACK By MICHAEL COREN TORONTO SUN FREELANCE WRITER ******* from Toronto Sun, December 23, 2006, via "Robert A. Jason" ******* TORONTO -- As we prepare to celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ there is surely nobody who seriously believes that Christianity is not under attack in North America. It was the author and critic Michael Medved, an Orthodox Jew, who pretty much summed it all up. He made the point that even in a film as banal and forgettable as Alien 3, the secular establishment and its poodle that is media and entertainment managed to throw a few punches. In the movie, one of the violent sexual maniacs on a futuristic penal colony explains, "You know, we're all fundamentalist Christians here." ******* This, of course, is in outer space. ******* One would have thought the eternal struggle against man-eating aliens had little to do with organized religion, but apparently not. ******* Out of context, out of place and just dumb, it nevertheless enabled another group of Hollywood types to bash their favourite foe. ******* And let us be specific here. Organized religion invariably means Christianity. To attack an Eastern faith or even Judaism would be seen as being politically insensitive. ******* As for Islam, nobody in Hollywood or the Canadian movie and television business has the courage to risk a fatwa or two. ******* But in the final analysis it doesn't really matter. Tearing down Christmas trees, banning nativity scenes, mumbling happy holidays, preventing prayer in schools and council chambers - all the dying spasms of the liberal culture. ******* Now this is important. Never think that the attack upon Christianity is a sign of the decline of the victim. On the contrary. These attacks are evidence of the decline of the perpetrator. So insecure in their ideology are the atheist hordes that they try to destroy anything and everyone that reflects and exposes their weakness. ******* Every little victory for the secular culture is a major triumph for the Messiah whose birthday we are about to commemorate. Just as the Church was persecuted most harshly by a Rome in massive decline. The darkness before the new dawn. ******* The attacks also mean that the weak and watery ones fall away, leaving the faith to serious Christians who understand they are here not to edit but to follow Christ. So the culture-friendly types, who submit to every whim of decadence and materialism in their pathetic effort to remain popular, become irrelevant. ******* It's why the United Church will effectively disappear within 20 years, why the Anglicans will split and their liberal wing evaporate, why the attempt to hijack genuine Catholicism is now stone dead and why solid, orthodox churches are growing in all corners of the world. ******* It's not about socialism, recycling, sexual licence, climate change, group hugs, self-esteem or never offending anyone. It's about truth, unchanging Scriptural absolutes, church teaching, the undeniable facts of the virgin birth and bodily resurrection, speaking God's message even when it hurts the speaker as well as the hearer and unending love and forgiveness. ******* It's about doing what is right but never blurring the lines of what is wrong. About exposing sin but offering salvation. It comes at a cost but it is worth more than the world. ******* Have a wonderful, faithful and prayerful Christmas. Oh, and look forward to Alien 12, in which a sad group of once influential people will announce, "You know, we're all secular fundamentalists here." Then be eaten by an enormous spider from Neptune. ******* � You can e-mail Michael Coren through his website, http://www.michaelcoren.com?******* � Have a letter for the editor? E-mail it to [email protected] http://www.torontosun.com/News/Columnists/Coren_Michael/2006/12/23/2950839-sun.html ******************************************************************************************************** ******* item 27 CHINA DETAINS SEVEN CATHOLIC PRIESTS - CNA April 28 - 2005 ******* From: [email protected]� ******* BEIJING, China, April 28 (CNA) - The Cardinal Kung Foundation released a statement saying that seven priests of the underground Catholic Church in China have been detained following the election of Pope Benedict XVI. ******* The priests were detained Wednesday at an unauthorized retreat led by Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo in China's northern city of Jinzhou. ******* The Chinese government only allows state-sanctioned Catholic worship and forbids loyalty to the Pope and the Vatican. ******* Reportedly, the government had warned Bishop Jia not to conduct any religious activities while John Paul II lay on his deathbed or during the instillation of Pope Benedict XVI. The Cardinal Kung Foundation also noted that the bishop had been under police surveillance for much of the past month. The Foundation identified the detained priests as, Wang Dingshan, Li Qiang, Liu Wenyuan, Zhang Qingcai, Li Suchuan, Pei Zhenping and Yin Zhengsong. ******* Bishop Jia, who has refused to affiliate himself with the communist-controlled state Catholic Church for years, has been detained and harassed by the Chinese government numerous times. ******************************************************************************************************** ******* item 28 CONFORMING RELIGION TO CHARTER (CANADA) By Hilary White - LifeSiteNews.com, February 1, 2007 ******* From: "Leslie Bartley" ******* Religions Must Conform to Canadian 'Charter Values' or Lose Charitable Status says Influential Professor. Condemns Catholic Church discrimination of refusing to ordain women as priestesses ******* TORONTO, February 1, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) � A political scientist at the University of Toronto has argued that as Canadian �Charter values� and Christian values drift further apart, churches should either adhere to and promote the state ideology, or lose the financial support they enjoy through their tax-free status.?******* In her article, �Living Better Multiculturally: Whose values should prevail?� published in the Fall 2006 edition of the Literary Review of Canada, Janice Gross Stein equates �Canadian values� with �Charter values,� in other words, those formulated and championed by the Liberal party of Canada after Pierre Trudeau�s leftist revolution.?******* Stein is a prominent political scientist and director of the University of Toronto �s Munk Centre for International Affairs, a member of the Order of Canada and a recognized expert in Middle Eastern conflicts. ?******* Deborah Gyapong reported in Canadian Catholic News that Stein proposed traditional religious groups essentially must either abandon any religious beliefs that conflict with the ideologies of the state, notably that of radical feminism, or cease to make any claims to special financial considerations for their charitable, non-profit works for the community. ?******* �If religious institutions are able to raise funds more easily because governments give a tax benefit to those who contribute, are religious practices against women a matter only for religious law, as is currently the case under Canadian law, which protects freedom of religion, or should the values of the Charter and of human rights commissions across Canada have some application when religious institutions are officially recognized and advantaged in fundraising?�?******* Stein writes of what she calls a �resurgence of orthodoxy in Christianity, Islam and Judaism,� as a threat to the peaceful coexistence of various cultures in Canada �s urban centres. This orthodoxy, she claims, �is sharpening lines of division between �them� and �us�.�?******* �Where we are reluctant to go,� she writes, �is the conflict between the universal human rights that we treasure and different religious and cultural traditions. One obvious fault line � one that we tiptoe around � is the rights of women in different religious and cultural traditions in our midst.�?******* �These religious institutions that systemically discriminate against women are recognized, at least implicitly, by governments. They enjoy special tax privileges given to them by governments.� ?******* Stein, a Jew who practices her faith at an �egalitarian� congregation in Toronto , gives the example of the Catholic Church�s teaching that only men have vocations to the priesthood. �Does it matter that the Catholic Church, which has special entitlements given to it by the state and benefits from its charitable tax status, refuses to ordain women as priests?� ?******* �How can we in Canada , in the name of religious freedom, continue furtively and silently to sanction discriminatory practices?�?******* Gwen Landoldt, a lawyer and vice president of REAL Women of Canada responded that Stein�s case falls apart at her assumption that all Canadians adhere to the �Charter values� of the extreme left.?******* �Religious practices discriminate against women? What women?� Landoldt said. �It�s only radical feminists who feel that Christian practices are against women. That doesn�t represent all Canadian women�s views because we don�t share her common point of ideology.�?******* �And as for charitable tax status, who does more charitable work in this country than the Catholic Church and the Salvation Army?� Landolt continued that the Stein article represented a serious escalation in the anti-religious rhetoric prevalent in Canada and promoted as an ideology through Human Rights Tribunal cases. ?******* �We are right at the periphery of perhaps the most serious issue we have faced. All the things that we have had in the past, abortion and same sex marriage, are closing in around the freedom of the Churches. This is a gauntlet that has been thrown down,� Landoldt said. ?******* Landoldt said it speaks directly to the role of religion in public life. �The role of religion is the advancement of religious faith, so that the goodness and graces of belief can be brought to everyone... Religion�s role in the public sphere is to teach people good public behavior." ?******* Stein�s point is not shared by all in academia either. Gyapong quotes Daniel Cere, head of McGill University�s Institute for the Study of Marriage, Law and Culture, who says Stein�s line of thought is �troubling� for it implications for religious freedom. He says this is the first time a public intellectual has openly advocated forcing religious bodies to conform their inner principles to the ideology of the state.?******* Constitutional lawyer Peter Lauwers said that Stein�s assumption is that all citizens will eventually conform internally to a uniform state ideology, �a brave new world in the future where we all think the same.�?******* Although the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees freedom of religion in its second section, Lauwers says adherence to Stein�s portrait of a future Canada , would essentially abrogate the Charter-guaranteed right of religious bodies freely to believe and act according to their beliefs. ?******* Read a shortened version of Stein�s essay: http://www.magazine.utoronto.ca/07winter/stein.asp ******************************************************************************************************** ******* item 29 LESLIE BARTLEY'S COMMENTS ON ITEM 28 ******* More evidence of the tyranny and assault on true liberty by those who hold to the religion of secular humanism. Rather than appreciate the true God-given liberties of free speech, freedom of religion and conscience, the secular humanists in the chattering classes want to erase any voice that would offer up a competing worldview. Sadly, she doesn�t recognize that it is the Judeo-Christian heritage rooted in the Scriptures that have given Canadians the freedom that she enjoys to express her views. Her religion would silence any competing voice. Such is the tyrannical nature of the �state-god� of secular humanism. ******************************************************************************************************** ******* item 30 CALIFORNIA WOMAN ORDERED TO REMOVE "MESSAGES FROM GOD " FROM HOUSE OR FACE FINES - Feb 26, 2007 ******* SAN MATEO, Calif. (AP) - A woman who has covered her roof and property with painted slogans she calls messages from God has been ordered to remove them or face possible fines or jail time. ******* The San Mateo City Council unanimously ruled last week that Estrella Benavides' writings violate city codes regulating the size of signs. The writings allege vast government conspiracies, among other warnings. ******* Benavides, 47, who also broadcasts the messages from a loudspeaker on her car's roof, has said the messages come to her from God through a statue at her church and from the Bible. ******* She claims the city's ruling violates her free speech rights. ******* "They're telling me based on the San Mateo sign code that I'm violating the law," Benavides said. "I'm telling them based on the U.S. Constitution that their sign code violates the law." ******* The council ruling orders Benavides to remove the slogans or face fines of US$50 a day starting late next month. If she refuses to remove them or pay the fines, the city will sue her or file criminal charges, City Attorney Shawn Mason said. *******************************************************************************************************

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The following warning is a prophetic message given to me, Frank Wagner, in November of 1974. ******* LISTEN TO THE CRY OF THE ABORTED CHILDREN. THEIR CRY IS NO. THEIR CRY IS A CRY OF TERROR. HEED THEIR CRY. ******* This prophecy is now being fulfilled. ******* For details about the source, meaning and fulfillment of this prophetic message go to ******* http://ca.geocities.com/fwagner4/index.html ******* email me at *** [email protected] ***