29 August 2006 Daily Update from HCJB World Radio

Today’s Headlines:

INNER MONGOLIAN HOUSE CHURCH RAIDED, MISSIONARY SENTENCED

‘VEGGIETALES’ TO DEBUT ON NATIONAL TV IN BOTH ENGLISH, SPANISH

NIGERIAN EVANGELIST STARTS SOCCER SCHOOL TO REACH YOUNG PEOPLE

POLL: AMERICANS UNCOMFORTABLE WITH MIX OF RELIGION, POLITICS

Today’s Top Stories:

INNER MONGOLIAN HOUSE CHURCH RAIDED, MISSIONARY SENTENCED

Northern China’s autonomous region of Inner Mongolia has been the target of both a house church raid and the arrest of a female missionary working there. At about 8 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 19, numerous local police and government officials raided the Liang Jiagou Church in Wuhai. They confiscated church property such as stools, blackboards and supplies and warned Christians that they cannot gather except in churches affiliated with the government-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement. Mongolian female missionary Wu Guilan was also sentenced on Saturday, Aug. 5, to one year in a “re-education through labor camp” by the local government. She was arrested on July 27 for evangelizing Mongolians and preaching that they should worship the “heavenly God” rather than Genghis Khan. (China Aid Association)

Malaysian convert to Christianity Lina Joy has gone into hiding following death threats from Muslim extremists directed at her and her legal team. Joy’s lengthy struggle to change her state-registered religious status from Islam to Christian has become a national debate to determine whether the secular law system or Islamic law (sharia) should rule on cases of conversions out of Islam. If the court orders the National Registration Department to drop the word “Islam” from Joy’s identity card, the move would affirm the supremacy of the country’s secular constitution. Orthodox Muslims favor a status quo decision, however, affirming the supremacy of Islam. Despite the death threats, street protests and heated rhetoric the case has spawned, much of Joy’s motivation seems to be her desire to legally marry her Christian fianc © and have children without being under the jurisdiction of sharia courts. Under sharia, Joy could be sentenced to several years in an Islamic education center for her conversion. (Compass Direct/Worldwide Religious News)

‘VEGGIETALES’ TO DEBUT ON NATIONAL TV IN BOTH ENGLISH, SPANISH

Kid-oriented faith- and values-based “VeggieTales” programming from Big Idea Productions is set to launch at regular timeslots on NBC, Telemundo and the i network. In addition to “VeggieTales,” the program block will include Big Idea’s “3-2-1 Penguins!” and “2D LarryBoy Adventures.” Big Idea has sold more than 52 million videos since it began in 1993. In addition to English, the three programs will debut in Spanish this September on Telemundo. “I am very excited for the opportunity to bring Bob, Larry and their veggie friends to national TV,” said “VeggieTales” creator Phil Vischer. “They help kids learn life-changing lessons in a delightfully wacky way. The positive messages of the stories can now reach a wider audience and, in doing so, affect a new generation of children.” (Religion Today)

NIGERIAN EVANGELIST STARTS SOCCER SCHOOL TO REACH YOUNG PEOPLE

As an avenue to spread the gospel in the metropolitan city of Lagos, Nigeria, Steve Pelemo, an evangelist/pastor at his World Overcomers Church, has started the Neighborhood Football Academy. Aimed at young people who would rather gather together to play soccer than attend church, the academy holds meetings with trainees on Saturday mornings and Sunday evenings with practices on Wednesdays. The academy stresses overall success in life, not just soccer. “Character plus talent plus Christ equals good success,” he said. Pelemo uses examples of soccer stars who have a lot of talent but “no character and no Christ.” He has found his previous audiences receptive to his gospel messages with successful outreaches to hoodlums known as “area boys” in crime-riddled neighborhoods and successful crusades in several other cities. Pelemo is planning a November crusade in Sakete, a border town in Benin where the Oro fetish worship is said to have taken over to the extent that some pastors are afraid to speak out in the name of Jesus. (Assist News Service)

* HCJB World Radio, together with partners In Touch Ministries, SIM and the Evangelical Church of West Africa, began airing weekly half-hour programs to Nigeria in the Igbo language in 2000. In 2003 weekly broadcasts were added in two additional languages, Yoruba and Hausa. HCJB World Radio also has helped with radio ministries in six cities with more in the planning stages.

POLL: AMERICANS UNCOMFORTABLE WITH MIX OF RELIGION, POLITICS

The latest poll conducted July 6-19 by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life finds that many Americans are uncomfortable with the relationship between religion and politics. The poll of 2,003 adults showed that both liberals and conservatives are in trouble. A full 69 percent say liberals have gone too far in keeping religion out of schools and government while 49 percent expressed concern about attempts by Christian conservatives to impose their religious values. The Democratic Party faces a serious “God problem” with only 26 percent saying the party is religion-friendly. While the proportion saying the Republicans are friendly to religion is much higher at 47 percent, this number fell from 55 percent in the past year with a sharp 14-point drop among white evangelicals. Other statistics show that overall 63 percent believe that the American people, not the Bible, should influence U.S. law. This contrasts with 60 percent of white evangelicals who hold the opposite view. (Religion News Service)

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Today’s Headlines:

RADIO BECOMES ‘EXTREMELY IMPORTANT’ AS FREEDOMS ERODE IN IRAN 4 EAST AFRICANS DEPORTED FROM SAUDI ARABIA FOR EVANGELIZING FOX JOURNALISTS FORCED TO CONVERT TO ISLAM ‘AT THE POINT OF A GUN’ EVANGELIST LUIS PALAU, CHINESE OFFICIAL RELEASE CO-AUTHORED BOOK NEW ORLEANS BAPTISTS EXPRESS LOVE ON 1ST ANNIVERSARY OF KATRINA Today’s Top Stories:

RADIO BECOMES ‘EXTREMELY IMPORTANT’ AS FREEDOMS ERODE IN IRAN

As Iran continues to ignore the world’s demands to suspend its uranium enrichment program, the already-limited freedoms within the country are also being removed. Barbara Shantz of Trans World Radio (TWR) says, “We’ve recently heard that satellite dishes are being removed from the country, making it difficult for those depending on that media to reach in to the country. So we’re back to radio being extremely important.” TWR beams Persian Christian music and programming into the country, and many are responding. “Maybe I could give one example of three young women (who) gave their hearts to the Lord and have formed, what they call, a church of three,” Shantz explained. “They listen to the radio broadcasts. That is one of the ways they are fed regularly.” She added that many new believers are coming to Christ after being “instructed” through a dream or vision to tune into the broadcasts. (Mission Network News)

* HCJB World Radio reaches across North Africa, the Middle East and Europe with Christian Arabic programming aired via shortwave, satellite and local stations. The mission’s Arabic satellite network airs programs direct-to-home 24 hours a day. This region has the world’s highest concentration of personal satellite dishes.

4 EAST AFRICANS DEPORTED FROM SAUDI ARABIA FOR EVANGELIZING

Four East African Christians from Ethiopia and Eritrea were deported from Saudi Arabia last month after being arrested while leading a prayer service in Jeddah, a port city west of Mecca. After being arrested on June 9, the church leaders were beaten and imprisoned in terrible conditions for more than a month without notification of the charges against them. Masai Wendewesen, who was deported to his native Ethiopia on July 16, reported that his Saudi work sponsor said the four had been jailed for “preaching to Muslims, planting churches and gathering ladies and gentlemen together for prayer.” While in prison, the Christians said that Muslim fellow prisoners could not contain their curiosity about Christianity. “They would wake us up from our bed at night to ask us questions,” Wendewesen recalled. “We didn’t think about the pain. We just preached the gospel.” Saudi Arabia remains staunchly opposed to allowing foreign Christian workers to build churches. (Compass Direct)

FOX JOURNALISTS FORCED TO CONVERT TO ISLAM ‘AT THE POINT OF A GUN’

One of the two Fox News journalists freed on Sunday, Aug. 27, after two weeks of captivity said they were forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint. Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig were kidnapped by a group called the Holy Jihad Brigades with demands for the release of Muslim prisoners held by the U.S. Centanni said the conversion to Islam “was something we felt we had to do because they had the guns.” He quickly added he had the “highest respect for Islam.” However, Brit Hume, managing editor of Fox News, said, “What an appealing faith these thugs must believe Islam is that conversions have to be effected at the point of a gun!” (Evangelical News/Associated Press)

EVANGELIST LUIS PALAU, CHINESE OFFICIAL RELEASE CO-AUTHORED BOOK

At a packed press conference in Beijing, evangelist Luis Palau and Chinese official Zhao Qizheng released a highly anticipated co-authored book titled Riverside Talks: A Friendly Dialogue between an Atheist and a Christian. At an unprecedented high-profile book signing by an international religious leader, Palau was twice allowed to explain what it meant to be a true follower of Christ. The book was Zhao’s suggestion to Palau two years ago in an effort to build mutual understanding between two cultures. It consists of transcribed conversations between the two leaders during three separate meetings. The book discusses philosophy, history, religion, the Bible, creation, atheism, Confucianism, politics, ethics, Chinese and Western cultures, and the relevance of Jesus Christ to society. Zhao, China’s vice chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and former Minister of Information, said, “Dr. Palau and I are both rather pure species of our two different cultures. Because both of us were very straightforward during our discussions, we were able to breach the barriers posed by different ideologies and exchange views on a wide range of topics. I was deeply touched when Dr. Palau told me he loved China.” (Christian Newswire)

NEW ORLEANS BAPTISTS EXPRESS LOVE ON 1ST ANNIVERSARY OF KATRINA

New Orleans Baptists purchased a full-page advertisement in The Times-Picayune metro newspaper on the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in order to express their ongoing love for New Orleans. The ad begins, “An anniversary love note from the 85 Southern Baptist churches of metropolitan New Orleans.” After a list of many of the 85 churches, many ethnically diverse, and their locations, the ad celebrated the volunteer relief work of the many Baptists who helped by “running chainsaws, gutting out houses, handing out food and water and preparing and serving literally millions of hot meals throughout the area.” The ad concluded, “We love you, New Orleans. We’re with you for the duration.” (Baptist Press)