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Today’s News Headlines:

PAKISTANI POLICE ABDUCT WITNESS OF ATTACK ON CHRISTIAN AGENCY MINISTRY URGES U.S. PRESIDENT TO ADDRESS PERSECUTION PROBLEM IN CHINA WAR AGAINST IRAQ COULD MULTIPLY HARDSHIPS FOR CHRISTIANS ADOPTION OF ISLAMIC LAW IN INDONESIAN PROVINCE IMPERILS CHRISTIANS JESUS FILM MINISTRY AIMS TO TOUCH 50 MILLION LIVES IN AFRICA OUTREACH TRANSFORMS PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES INTO MINISTERS

Today’s News Stories:

PAKISTANI POLICE ABDUCT WITNESS OF ATTACK ON CHRISTIAN AGENCY Karachi police authorities forcibly abducted an eyewitness survivor of last month’s deadly Christian welfare agency massacre from the premises of the Sindh High Court earlier today, minutes after the court had ordered his release from illegal police detention. Robin Peranditta, 27, was the only eyewitness who survived the Sept. 25 attack against the Institute for Peace and Justice offices in central Karachi where he worked. He has been held in police “protective custody” since the attack in which seven Christians were shot to death. When he appeared before a division bench of the Sindh High Court, Peranditta could barely walk, observers said. “He appeared visibly shaken and scared,” reported the Center for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement, a Christian advocacy group that filed a constitutional petition for his release on Oct. 4. “He didn’t say a word in the court,” one observer noted. A court-ordered report submitted at the hearing noted that Peranditta has suffered “severe physical and mental torture” while in the custody of Pakistan’s Criminal Investigation Agency. On Oct. 8 the Sindh High Court had extended his detention until today to allow security police time to complete investigations into the unsolved attack. (Compass)

MINISTRY URGES U.S. PRESIDENT TO ADDRESS PERSECUTION PROBLEM IN CHINA The treatment of Chinese Christians, now outnumbering Chinese Communist Party members, should be placed near the top of the agenda when U.S. President George W. Bush meets Friday with Chinese President Jiang Zemin, says Voice of the Martyrs spokesman Gary Lane. “At a time when President Bush is talking about terrorism and hoping to secure Beijing’s support for military action against Iraq, China — a U.N. Security Council member — is terrorizing many of its Christian citizens,” he said. “We also expect our president to demand accountability from Beijing for violating the human rights of pastor Gong Shengliang, founder of the South China Church, and other Chinese Christians.” Among those imprisoned for their faith are 17 members of the unregistered church referred to as the South China Church 17. “Not only have we received reports they’re being denied Bibles, but some have been beaten and tortured into making false statements,” Lane said. At least one member, 27-year-old Zhongyu, was tortured to death after being arrested for attending an “illegal house meeting” and refusing to give false testimony against Shengliang. (Voice of the Martyrs)

WAR AGAINST IRAQ COULD MULTIPLY HARDSHIPS FOR CHRISTIANS With a possible U.S.-led military attack on Iraq imminent, an evangelical ministry is asking Christians to pray. Johan Companjen, president of Open Doors International, said many believers in Iraq could face even greater hardship if war breaks out. “It will be tough because Christians are identified with the West. Most Muslims see Christianity as a Western religion which is very unfortunate because it’s not — Jesus was born in the Middle East. That is a misconception that we see, and the Christians really fight that every day.” However, Companjen says this could also be a strategic time for the church in Iraq. “We have learned after 50 years of serving persecuted Christians, that a time of crisis is also a time of opportunity,” he said. Persecuted believers are not asking for Christians to pray for the hardship to end, but that they would be “strong, trusting the Lord because this is the time that He does things that we’ve never dreamed of.” (Mission Network News)

ADOPTION OF ISLAMIC LAW IN INDONESIAN PROVINCE IMPERILS CHRISTIANS The oil- and gas-rich province of Aceh on the northern part of Sumatra, Indonesia, an area with 4.3 million people, has historically been staunchly Islamic. On Jan. 1 2002, as part of a wide-ranging autonomy package that the Indonesian government hoped would appease separatists, Aceh was granted the right to adopt Islamic law (sharia). Officials assured the Christian minority that they “should not worry. The administration will use national law for them.” But on Sept. 28 the Jakarta Post reported that under sharia, caning or imprisonment would be the punishment for those who “propagated beliefs other than Islam to Muslims in the province.” Mark Durie, pastor of St. Hilary’s Anglican Church in Melbourne, Australia, and an expert on Acehnese culture, says Christians who are scattered throughout the region have faced pressure for decades. “Church burnings have been an intermittent occurrence for the past 30 years,” he said. “The most significant Protestant church in Banda Aceh, the capital, was burned down in the early 1990s, and permission to rebuild was refused.” Christians employed as teachers in state schools “can come under enormous pressures to convert to Islam,” he adds. “The implementation of sharia punishments is a profound change in Aceh which has not been governed by the sharia for more than 100 years.” (Assist News Service)

JESUS FILM MINISTRY AIMS TO TOUCH 50 MILLION LIVES IN AFRICA The Jesus Film Project’s “African Sunrise” has completed phase 1 in 11 countries in southeastern Africa. The goal was to share the gospel with 50 million people in 50 cities in 50 days. At a recent meeting in Madagascar, of the 200 guests, 144 indicated decisions for Christ and 120 wanted to enter into a Bible study. On the island of Mauritius, of the 40 dignitaries who attended, 38 turned in response cards. Of those, nine indicated decisions for Christ, and 19 asked for more information. (Mission Network News)

OUTREACH TRANSFORMS PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES INTO MINISTERS Champions for Christ (CFC), a low-profile ministry that is credited with transforming athletes not only into role models but also into ministers, continues to grow and make an impact on the spiritual lives of athletes worldwide. With more than 100 National Football League, 20 National Basketball Association and 10 National Hockey League members, CFC is a “growing presence in big-league sports,” reported ESPN The Magazine. Bill McCartney, founder and president of Promise Keepers, says CFC is on the “cutting edge of what God is doing in the kingdom” in ministering to players who often times have fame, fortune and a plethora of temptations. “These guys are awesome,” McCartney said. “There’s fire in their camp. You can’t be around these guys and not be ignited for the Lord. You tell a tree by its fruit, and this ministry bears good fruit.” (Religion Today)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * James A. Ferrier HCJB World Radio U.S. Ministries Communications Director E-mail: Phone: 1-719-590-9800 Fax: 1-719-590-9801 Web: http://www.hcjb.org http://www.beyondthecall.org * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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