IRAQI CHRISTIANS CAUGHT IN CROSSFIRE AS SUNDAY ELECTION APPROACHES

CHRISTIAN NEWS AGENCY IN HUNGARY BACK ONLINE AFTER ‘MAJOR ATTACK’

GOSPEL FOR ASIA FINDS SPIRITUAL OPENNESS AMONG TSUNAMI VICTIMS

SRI LANKAN CHURCH VOLUNTEERS REACH REMOTE FISHING COMMUNITIES

COLOMBIAN SEMINARY STUDENT APPARENT VICTIM OF POLICE MISTAKES

CHINA’S REGISTERED CHURCHES ENJOY SURPRISING RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS

Today’s News Stories:

IRAQI CHRISTIANS CAUGHT IN CROSSFIRE AS SUNDAY ELECTION APPROACHES Not only is the future of Iraq at stake with the country’s historic election set for Sunday, Jan. 30, so are the lives of Iraq’s minority Christian population, says Open Doors USA President Carl Moeller. An estimated 800,000 believers are being marginalized, and up to 100,000 have fled the country because of the increased violence, he said. “We really want to mobilize the U.S. to pray. That’s what our brothers and sisters in Iraq are most asking us to do. We can’t vote in the Iraqi elections. And really, there’s no political process or solution that will be viable in the long run.” Moeller says only a spiritual solution will effect long-lasting changes in Iraq. The election could spell the difference between freedom and oppression. “The great fear Christians have is that an extreme Muslim leader will be elected,” Moeller said. Local sources said that Christians plan to vote. “They have to have their voice heard. It’s the only chance they have politically to have any representation in a new Iraqi government.” If Christians fail to win any seats in the new Assembly, they will have no say in drafting the country’s constitution. “This is one of the great concerns we have right now,” said Moeller. A key issue will be the potential implementation of sharia (Islamic law) in Iraq. “We pray it won’t ever happen. In every place that sharia law has been imposed on a Christian minority, whether it’s in Nigeria or Sudan, there are incredible repercussions on a human level.” (Religion Today/Open Doors)

CHRISTIAN NEWS AGENCY IN HUNGARY BACK ONLINE AFTER ‘MAJOR ATTACK’ BosNewsLife, Eastern Europe’s first Christian news agency on the Internet, re-emerged Thursday, Jan. 27, after a “major attack” on its website, said founder Stefan J. Bos who launched the website last year. He said investigations are ongoing as to “why one or more programmers” from the former Soviet Union apparently “infiltrated and brought down” the website in November. Webmaster Denis Volovik was dismissed, but he denied any involvement in the website’s failure and described the allegations as “completely unjustified.” Bos maintained that there was a “deliberate attack” on the website, claiming he was disliked by the Hungarian government and other officials because of investigative articles on the persecution of Christians, Jews and dissidents. The Hungary-based news agency also received threats via e-mail. Bos added that improved security measures have been implemented on the website. (BosNewsLife)

GOSPEL FOR ASIA FINDS SPIRITUAL OPENNESS AMONG TSUNAMI VICTIMS While various organizations and ministries have criticized the efforts of Christian groups and relief agencies for witnessing to victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami, Gospel for Asia (GFA) President K.P. Yohannan says the relief efforts have opened up ministry opportunities in areas long resistant to the gospel. “We give the survivors all the material things, but at the same time, as the workers hear the pain of these people — they’re crying — they sit down with them and share with them the love of God and the hope in Jesus,” he said. “And to those who can read, we give them Scripture verses — and that’s all we do.” The objective is not to “make converts” of people in dire circumstances, Yohannan explained. “As we go to these places, we are not going to give them food and clothes and medicine and housing to make them convert from their faith to Christianity,” he said. “That is not the approach Jesus used — and neither do we.” (Religion Today/AgapePress)

SRI LANKAN CHURCH VOLUNTEERS REACH REMOTE FISHING COMMUNITIES A month after the Dec. 26 tsunami, local churches across Sri Lanka are making sure that aid reaches neglected remote fishing communities in the eastern part of the country. Hundreds of volunteers from various denominations are continuing a relief effort coordinated by Tearfund partner Lanka Evangelical Alliance Development Services (LEADS). Tearfund, a British-based evangelical humanitarian relief agency, reported that many remote villages along the east coast only recently received their second aid delivery of rice, fish, noodles and soy since the devastating tsunami hit. LEADS Director Roshan Mendis said churches “hit the ground running” in relief efforts, using local expertise and existing church networks to achieve the maximum effect. “In Colombo alone we’ve had more than 500 volunteers from different churches and other places helping us,” Mendis said in the news release. “Elsewhere we have 150 volunteers assisting in packing relief supplies, assessing the needs of the people and helping out in the camps. Churches have delivered a vast amount of manpower.” Survivors of the disaster will be affected for years to come, Mendis said. “They have been totally displaced. Thousands of people will have to be relocated, so they are virtually going to have to start new communities.” LEADS, with the help of local churches, is launching long-term support for thousands of families affected by the tsunami. (Assist News Service)

COLOMBIAN SEMINARY STUDENT APPARENT VICTIM OF POLICE MISTAKES Colombian seminary student Lu ­s Alberto Vera was released last month from the Bellavista National Jail in Medell ­n but remains under house arrest at the Biblical Seminary of Medell ­n. Vera faces a complex legal tangle to prove he was imprisoned on false charges. He was arrested on Nov. 26, 2004, when a routine police check matched his identification number with an arrest warrant. Vera stands accused of mugging a man in Bucaramanga in 2002. Sloppy police work and an overloaded justice system evidently combined to land him in prison. Vera’s saga began several years ago when he was involved in a traffic mishap in Bucaramanga. Police took a photograph of him and apparently misfiled it in the station’s criminal records section. His misplaced photo eventually led to his arrest. Meanwhile, Vera has accrued legal bills totaling 5 million pesos (US$2,110). “I’m not sure I will be able to continue my studies,” he said. Vera left his native city last year with his wife and son to begin seminary. While inside the Bellavista prison he met with many new Christian converts and helped them connect with the jail’s prison fellowship ministry. (Compass)

CHINA’S REGISTERED CHURCHES ENJOY SURPRISING RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS While stories about persecution in China’s underground church abound, Erik Burklin of China Partner Ministries paints a contrasting picture of China’s registered churches and seminaries. “We were able to ship 380 theological study books to three different Bible schools in China,” he said. “In addition, we shipped 100 Life Application Bibles to two Bible schools.” Burklin says the once-critical shortage of Bibles in China is also being addressed. “More than 5 million Bibles were printed in China at the Amity printing press in Nanjing. The total of all the Bibles printed there since 1987 is close to 40 million. Many Christians and non-Christians, for that matter, will benefit from the fact that there will be more Bibles available.” (Mission Network News)

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