Today’s Headlines:

AFGHAN CHRISTIAN COULD FACE DEATH SENTENCE FOR REJECTING ISLAM

AUTHORITIES IN UZBEKISTAN INCREASE PRESSURE ON CHURCHES

DAWN SETS GOAL OF 20 MILLION NEW CHURCHES WORLDWIDE BY 2020

EVANGELIZING MUSLIMS COULD MEAN REACHING OUT TO YOUR NEIGHBOR

SURVEY: FAITH TAKES SECOND PLACE FOR MAJORITY OF U.S. RESIDENTS

Today’s Top Stories:

AFGHAN CHRISTIAN COULD FACE DEATH SENTENCE FOR REJECTING ISLAM

An Afghan man is being prosecuted in a Kabul court and could be sentenced to death on a charge of converting from Islam to Christianity, reported the Associated Press (AP). The trial is believed to be the first of its kind in Afghanistan and could determine what shape Islam will take four years after the ouster of the Taliban.

Abdul Rahman, 41, was arrested last month after his family accused him of becoming a Christian, Judge Ansarullah Mawlavezada told AP. Rahman was charged with rejecting Islam and his trial started Thursday, March 16. Rahman confessed that he converted from Islam to Christianity 16 years ago while working as a medical aid worker for an international Christian group helping Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

“We are not against any particular religion in the world, but in Afghanistan this sort of thing is against the law,” Mawlavezada said. “It is an attack on Islam.” Mawlavezada said he would rule on the case within two months. In the months before U.S.-led troops ousted the Taliban in 2001, it claimed Western aid groups were trying to convert Afghan Muslims. They arrested eight foreign aid workers for allegedly preaching Christianity, but later released them unharmed.

The human rights group International Christian Concern (ICC) is calling on Afghan President Hamid Karzai to pardon Rahman. “The Afghan authorities should drop this case immediately,” stated an ICC press release. “Afghanistan has already had enough of religious extremism under the Taliban. The world is watching to see if Afghanistan has entered the 21st century. We urge Afghanistan not to return to the days of the Taliban.” (Religion Today/Evangelical News/International Christian Concern)

AUTHORITIES IN UZBEKISTAN INCREASE PRESSURE ON CHURCHES

Conditions for Christians have deteriorated over the last year in Uzbekistan as the government enacted measures restricting religious freedom. Missionary activity and unregistered religious communities are considered illegal. A spike in raids on churches over the last six weeks suggests this is likely to continue. “I think we realize that the Holy Spirit will work beyond the parameters of a government that makes it difficult for the church,” says Greg Musselman of Voice of the Martyrs Canada. “So the church of Jesus Christ will still continue to go on. We have people that are in Uzbekistan that are witnessing and giving out literature and many times in a very low-key way.” Musselman adds that prayer is essential to ministry. “The intimidation is there, but yet, even in the middle of that, for the strong believers, they actually tend to be motivated, sometimes, so does the opposition. So, they’re still handing out literature, meeting people in their homes and sharing the gospel.” (Mission Network News)

DAWN SETS GOAL OF 20 MILLION NEW CHURCHES WORLDWIDE BY 2020

Directors and associates involved in the global DAWN movement gathered in South Africa last month, and set a daring goal to see 20 million new churches planted around the world by the year 2020. DAWN (Discipling a Whole Nation) is a global partnership that seeks to fulfill Jesus’ mission through “saturation church planting.” As part of this process, DAWN also set a goal to mobilize 100 million intercessors by the year 2020. Of the 20 million new churches, 9 million will be planted in Asia (including Australia and the Pacific), 4 million in Africa, 3 million in North America, 3 million in Latin America and 1 million in Europe. “No doubt this is a great challenge,” says Amaury Braga, DAWN’s international prayer coordinator. “But we believe that with God’s strength, prayers from His body and the boldness of church planters, it can be done.” (Joel News International)

EVANGELIZING MUSLIMS COULD MEAN REACHING OUT TO YOUR NEIGHBORS

Sharing Christ with Muslims doesn’t necessarily mean going to a foreign country, says John Marion, the project director of Truth for Muslims, an evangelical group that believes Texas is as ripe a place to spread its message as the Middle East. “During the past 1,400 years there has been no greater challenge to the gospel than Islam,” he explains. “We’re meeting the challenge of Islam through evangelism, teaching, and public speaking.” Marion says that those working with him are committed to praying for Muslims and evangelizing them with the message of Christ. “The clear commands of Christ compel us to bring the gospel to Muslims, whatever the cost,” he said. Since 9/11, Marion has turned his attention to helping Christians meet the challenge of Islam in America. (Religion Today)

SURVEY: FAITH TAKES SECOND PLACE FOR MAJORITY OF U.S. RESIDENTS

Most American adults consider themselves to be not merely “religious” but “deeply spiritual.” That’s the claim of 62 percent of all adults interviewed in the annual religious tracking survey conducted by the Barna Group. However, when the religious and spiritual commitments of Americans were studied more closely, those outcomes question the meaning of being “deeply spiritual.” In particular, the research discovered that when adults were asked to identify the single, most important priority in their life, commitment to faith placed second, but was listed by only one out of every six people. By far the top priority, listed by 51 percent of adults, was their family. Faith was the runner-up, listed by 16 percent of all adults. The survey pointed out that while most Americans think of themselves as being highly spiritual, that view is not supported by behaviors evident in their life. George Barna, who directed the tracking study of religious beliefs and practices, noted, “It is popular to claim to be part of a ‘faith community’ or to have a spiritual commitment. It seems as if God is in, but living for God is not. Many Americans are living a dual life — one filled with good feelings about God and faith, corroborated by some simple religious practices, and another in which they believe they are in control of their own destiny and operate apart from Him.” (Evangelical News/Barna Group)