AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER

* TIME RUNNING OUT FOR IRAQ’S PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS

* CHRISTIAN GROUPS MOVE TO CONDEMN GAY SEX

* NORWEGIAN HOMOSEXUALS WANT QUOTAS SET FOR HOMOSEXUAL CLERGY

* CHRISTIAN PARTY IN SCOTLAND GAINS SUPPORT OF MUSLIMS

* CHINA CHANGES DEATH PENALTY POLICY

* ASTONISHING TURNOUT IN JAPAN TO HEAR THE GOSPEL

———————————————–

TIME RUNNING OUT FOR IRAQ’S PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS

The growing collapse of law and order in Iraq is a tragedy. All Iraqis are affected, but the country’s Christian minority is bearing the heaviest burden. Christianity in the territory now known as Iraq dates back to at least the 4th century A.D., well before the advent of Islam. The church survived various forms of persecution over the centuries, but faces what may be its greatest challenge yet.

Although Saddam Hussein was no friend of Christianity – no dictator can be – he did not target Christians for their faith. They were no more free than anyone else, but at least they were insulated from jihadist violence. The overthrow of Hussein initially created space for evangelism, and thousands of Iraqis responded. New believers flocked to new churches.

But the explosion of crime and lawlessness, rise of domestic insurgents, and influx of foreign jihadists have made life impossible for many Christians. Gangs have targeted Christians for extortion and kidnapping. Bombings and shootings have caught Christians as well as Muslims. And Islamic extremists, notes Jacobson, “have targeted Christians for everything from violating Islamic dress codes to simply being Christians.”

By some estimates half of the pre-war population of 1.2 million Christians-a mix of Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox faiths-have fled Iraq, many going to Syria. Other Iraqi Christians have sought to emigrate to America and Europe. Time is running out to save Iraq’s Christians.

Source: Christian Freedom International

———————————————–

CHRISTIAN GROUPS MOVE TO CONDEMN GAY SEX

Faced with rising public acceptance of same-sex relation ships, three U.S. Christian denominations are taking strong measures to condemn homosexual acts as sinful.

The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops, have declared that Catholics who minister to gays must firmly adhere to the church’s teaching that same-sex attractions are “disordered.” The Bishops said that Catholics with “a homosexual inclination” should be encouraged to live in chastity and discouraged from making “general public announcements” about their sexual orientation. They added that it is not sufficient for those ministering to gays to take a position of “distant neutrality” toward the church’s teachings.

The largest Baptist group in North Carolina, meanwhile, has moved to expel any congregation that condones homosexuality, adopting a policy that allows the Baptist State Convention to investigate complaints that member churches are too “gay- friendly.”

And in Pittsburgh, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), a mainline Protestant denomination with about 3 million members, has put a minister on trial for conducting a marriage ceremony for two women.

The decisions are part of a mounting backlash in many U.S. denominations against church groups whose stated goal is not only to welcome but also to “affirm” gay congregants. For many religious groups, the biblical injunction to hate the sin but love the sinner is no longer sufficient, because many believers do not view homosexuality as a sin.

Source: Intercessors for America

———————————————–

NORWEGIAN HOMOSEXUALS WANT QUOTAS SET FOR HOMOSEXUAL CLERGY NORWEGIAN HOMOSEXUALS WANT QUOTA’S SET FOR HOMOSEXUAL CLERGY

Source: The Brussels JournalThe Norwegian Association for Lesbian and Homosexual Emancipation (LLH) says it wants quota’s introduced for homosexual clergy within Churches in Norway. Another organization, the Open Church Group says that dioceses with a positive view towards homosexual clergymen should actively go out and recruit them for their parishes. The LLH notes that homosexual clergymen are not welcome everywhere. Sometimes their applications are not considered when a new vicar has to be appointed. The spokesman of the association, Nils Riedl, compares the fight for homosexual clergymen to the fight for female clergypersons. Therefore the association wants to improve the position of the lesbians and male homosexuals within the Norwegian Church by imposing quota’s. In a reaction to the proposal both the Labor Party and the conservative Right emphasized that they support the organization’s objectives, but not the demand for quota’s. They think that such a move would damage the interests of homosexuals in the long run. Will there soon be a demand for atheist clergy too? Such clergy do actually exist. Danish vicar Thorkild Grosb ¸ll a few months ago caused a row when he said he did not believe in God. He was briefly suspended but was immediately allowed to resume his job when he declared that he had regained his faith in God. So what will come next after female, homosexual and atheist vicars? Muslim vicars perhaps? Two thousand years ago, Christianity was founded by a young, religious Jewish man. If the Open Church Group achieves its aims, soon vicars like Him will be the exception rather than the rule in “enlightened” dioceses. Next time God tries to save the world, He had better send His lesbian daughter who does not believe in Him or in her brother.

Source: The Brussels Journal

———————————————–

CHRISTIAN PARTY IN SCOTLAND GAINS SUPPORT OF MUSLIMS

A pro-family, pro-life Christian party in Scotland which wants to protect traditional marriage has reportedly won significant support from Scotland’s Muslim community in its bid to win a seat in this year’s Holyrood elections. A member of Glasgow’s Central Mosque, Abdul Dean, who is supporting the party, claims it best represents his view on morality. “A lot of Muslims have asked me why I support a Christian party. My answer is simple: the Christian Party is the only political party that is based on values, rather than ideology.” The party is campaigning against any plans to allow homosexual sex to be taught in primary schools, with petitions issued by the party quoting Nelson Mandela declaring: “There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way it treats its children”.

Source: Scotland Sunday

———————————————–

CHINA CHANGES DEATH PENALTY POLICY

Until recently the lower courts in China have handled cases involving the death penalty. They’ve had the final say for over 20 years, but now only the Supreme People’s Court will have the final say in who will receive the death penalty. Human Rights groups have waged this war, and are finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. China is believed to account for most of the world’s court-ordered executions, putting to death hundreds of people a year for crimes ranging from murder to such non-violent offences as tax evasion. The human rights groups have labelled this a mishandling of justice, and demanded for the higher courts to review the cases for some time.

The decision has brought hope for a better China as it gives defendants one last chance to have their voices heard, and a possible escape of wrongful convictions.

Source: The Christian Post

———————————————–

ASTONISHING TURNOUT IN JAPAN TO HEAR THE GOSPEL

A large crowd turned out at Franklin Graham’s first evangelistic festival in Japan recently astonished local pastors who had invited the evangelist. Only 1 percent of the population of Japan is Christian and the average church only has about 40 members. The three-day weekend festival drew 30,792 people to the Chatan Sports Complex in Okinawa. Marking the first time that local Okinawa churches and international and English speaking churches joined together for such an event, it is notable that more than 1,942 people reportedly responded to the invitation to put their faith in Jesus Christ.

Source: The Christian Post

Have you visited our Web Site? http://www.ausprayernet.org.au/

You can print this e-mail with formating at the following web-address: http://www.ausprayernet.org.au/newsletter/PrintNewsletter.php?e_id=00000001245