AUSTRALIAN PRAYER NETWORK NEWSLETTER
* HAS  THE  BATON  BEEN  PASSED  TO  THE  ASIAN  CHURCH?
* SUDAN:  THOUSANDS  FLEE  BURNING  AND  LOOTING  BY  NORTH  SUDAN  
FORCES
* 48  RAPES  OCCUR  EVERY  HOUR  IN  THE  DEMOCRATIC  REPUBLIC  OF  
THE  CONGO
* FIRST  CONPREHENSIVE  SURVEY  OF  WORLD  MUSLIM  OPINION
* PAKISTAN'S  BLASPHEMY  LAWS  POSE  GROWING  THREAT
* MARRIAGES  LASTING   LONGER  NOW  IN  THE  U.S.A.
* U.K.  JUDGE  DEMANDS  POSITIVE  FAMILY  LAW  REFORM
* MUSLIM  EXTREMISTS  BURN  CHURCH  BUILDING  AND  HOMES  IN  
NIGERIA
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HAS  THE  BATON  
BEEN  PASSED  TO  THE  ASIAN  CHURCH?
Increasingly Christianity is developing a definite Chinese flavour. 
Missionary strategists have already predicted that by 2035 China will 
be aChristian nation. Then nations of Asia, including Singapore, are 
positioned to be 21st century Antiochs. Hundreds of young 
people-mostly Chinese, many first-generation converts to 
Christianity- are filling auditoriums across Asia. They know too how 
to pray and cry out to God, and their songs indicate a commitment to 
serve God rarely seen in the west. Words like those that follow 
indicate something of the passion with which they approach their 
faith. 
Set this generation apart for You
Let me be a part of what You're doing
I want to stand in purity and righteousness
Set this generation on fire
Lord I will burn, I will burn for You.
This is not shallow emotionalism. These kids are very serious about 
following God. Weekly cell groups and discipleship training courses 
are filled in most Churches of any size with thousands attending. In 
Singapore one 3000 member church has 50% of its leadership in their 
20s or younger.The church's youth pastor, Paul Liu Jiancong, a thin 
guy whose English has a dignified British accent, knows that 
something is stirring among the youth in his country of 5 million 
people. "Let's press in for revival!" he exhorted the crowd. "Let's 
consecrate our hearts!" 
The founding pastor of Cornerstone, Yang Tuck Yoong, knows that 
revival is much more than altar calls and emotional displays. It is 
measured by a growing number of solid converts. In Singapore, where 
the government enforces a policy of tolerance toward all religions, 
the number of evangelical Christians has been steadily rising in 
recent years. Many new Christians come from Buddhist backgrounds. A 
wave of Church growth hit Singapore during renewal in the 1970s and 
'80s. Today Singapore is home to numerous evangelical mega churches. 
The percentage of Christians in Singapore has now risen to 18 
percent, up from 14 percent just a few years ago.
Asian Churches are taking world evangelism seriously. Last year 
Cornerstone Church sent out 52 short-term mission teams to various 
nations, including Uganda. Because Singapore enjoys financial 
prosperity (some analysts say Singapore has already passed the United 
States in per capita wages), many of its churches invest millions of 
dollars in mission work. Singapore already has one of the highest 
percentages of commissioned missionaries, per capita, in the world. 
They understand the importance of the Holy Spirit's power. Growing 
churches in Singapore have abandoned formalism to pursue biblical 
balance and stress the need for discipleship. 
At Trinity Christian Centre, a fast-growing Assemblies of God 
congregation its 7,000 members are trained in weekly care cells. They 
are investing in the next generation. One young man named Nathaniel 
said "Many Taoists are coming to Jesus today. As they become educated 
they are leaving the old superstitious religion behind and are 
turning to Christianity. Many bright young professionals are now 
being trained to take their faith into the marketplace, or on to the 
mission field beyond Singapore. The baton has been passed. We must be 
humble enough to learn from them, and pray they stay humble enough to 
avoid the mistakes we have made in the West.
Source: Charisma  
Magazine
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SUDAN:  THOUSANDS  
FLEE  BURNING  AND  LOOTING  BY  NORTH  SUDAN  FORCES
Thousands of civilians have been displaced following the occupation 
of Abyei by the Sudan Armed Forces. Reports indicate that 20,000 
civilians have fled across the river Kiir, and are sheltering under 
trees from the rain. The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) reports burning 
and looting by northern forces in Abyei, and members of the UN 
Security Council have demanded that North Sudan withdraws its forces 
from the area. Oil-rich Abyei is a disputed region, with both North 
and newly-formed South Sudan staking a claim to the area. Tensions 
have risen since a plebiscite to determine whether Abyei remains part 
of the north, or is returned to Southern Sudan was postponed. 
The Abyei plebiscite is a key part of the Comprehensive Peace 
Agreement (CPA), which brought an end to the civil war that has 
ravaged the countrysince 1983. The death toll in the recent fighting 
is yet to be determined, as many civilians are thought to have died 
in the indiscriminate bombing of the Abyei area, when the northern 
army attacked with long range artillery shells and Antonov aircraft, 
hitting several civilian areas. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) 
has received a report of a child so terrified bythe bombing that she 
ran into the bush and disappeared. One of the target shit was a 
cattle byre at Marial Achaak, north east of Abyei. 
The shelling was in apparent retaliation for an incident at Dokura, 
just north of Abyei. A shot was fired at a UN car as it accompanied 
northern troops within the area. Although the incident has yet to be 
investigated, the north blamed the Sudan People's Liberation Army 
(SPLA) for the attack. "It was a planned thing - they were just 
looking for a reason to start the war" according to one source. 
Former politician and prominent Abyei elder, Dr Zachariah Bol Deng, 
said, "The UN force is mandated to protect civilians,and must do so 
as a matter of urgency. It is a terrible situation. We don't know 
what to do. We urge the international community to come to our aid." 

In 2008 over 20,000 people were displaced when northern forces 
attacked and occupied Abyei. CSW's Advocacy Director Andrew Johnston 
said, "The attacks on civilians by the northern army and its 
occupation and looting of Abyei are unacceptable and threaten to 
reignite war and should be condemned in the strongest terms. While 
appreciating the Security Council call for northern withdrawal, it is 
clearly time for words to be translated into effective action. UNMIS 
must become far more proactive in protecting Abyei's civilians, in 
enforcing peace in the area, and in ensuring that the future of Abyei 
is decided not by force of arms, but in accordance with international 
rulings."
Source: Christian  Solidarity  
Worldwide
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48  RAPES  OCCUR  
EVERY  HOUR  IN  THE  DEMOCRATIC  REPUBLIC  OF  THE  CONGO
A study by US scientists has concluded that an average of 48 women 
and girls are raped every hour in the Democratic Republic of Congo 
(DRC). The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, 
found that 400,000 females aged 15-49 were raped over a 12-month 
period in 2006 and 2007. That rate is 26 times more than the previous 
estimate by the UN, of 16,000 rapes in one year. The DRC says the 
figures reflect women being better able to report rape. Sexual 
violence has long been a dominant feature of the continuing conflict 
in eastern DRC. 
These higher figures are still considered a conservative estimate of 
the true prevalence of sexual violence because of chronic under 
reporting due to stigma, shame, and exclusion of younger and older 
age groups. The study used data from a 2007 government health survey. 
Previous estimates have been derived from police and health centre 
reports. The highest numbers of rapes were found in war-ravaged North 
Kivu, where an average of 67 women out of 1,000 have been raped at 
least once. However, the report said sexual violence was also 
widespread outside the conflict zones of eastern Congo. 
The BBC's Thomas Hubert says the study is in line with earlier 
reports that found sexual violence was spreading outside of war zones 
and into Congo's civilian society. Government spokesman Lambert Mende 
told the BBC, "The report itself of these scientists is an evidence 
of the state becoming more and more efficient by dispatching judges, 
prosecutors, and police all over the country," he said. "It is that, 
that allows people now to complain and to feed such reports." 
Commenting on the report, Michael VanRooyen, director of the Harvard 
Humanitarian Initiative, said that "rape in the D.R.C. has emerged as 
one of the great human crises of our time."
Source: Intercessors  
Network
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FIRST  CONPREHENSIVE 
 SURVEY  OF  WORLD  MUSLIM  OPINION
A six year study of opinions in the Muslim world through face-to-face 
interviews in 40 countries provides a guide to the way Muslims think 
about the rest of the world. Most Muslims admire the technology and 
political systems of the West. They value the West's system of hard 
work, individual responsibility and the rule of law. They also value 
the West's fair political systems with their respect for human 
rights, democracy and gender equality. What Muslims don't like about 
the West was denigration of Islamand Muslims, promiscuity and other 
moral corruptions. They would like to see in the West a demonstration 
of greater respect for Islam and more understanding. 
In return, they felt Muslims should show more respect for the West's 
values of freedom of speech and religion. Large majorities everywhere 
found no contradiction between democracy and Islam believing both 
could contribute to the quality of life. Substantial majorities said 
they would like to have freedom of speech guaranteed in their 
constitutions. For their own governments they wanted something other 
than a theocracy or a secular democracy. In most of the countries, a 
majority believed women should have the same rights as men, including 
the right to vote, to hold any job they qualified for outside the 
home and to hold leadership positions at any level.
In Saudi Arabia, where women may not vote, 58% of men say they should 
be able to. Only about 7% of all Muslims condoned the 9/11 attacks. 
This radical group, however, gave political reasons more than 
religious reasons for their views. Such radicals are mostly not the 
poor of the society but more educated on average than those holding 
moderate opinions. Two-thirds of them have above average incomes. 
What distinguishes radicals from moderate Muslims is not their 
perception of Western culture or freedom, but their perception of US 
foreign policy. Even the radicals support democracy, but they believe 
the US will not allow them to fashion their own political 
future.
Source: Christian  
Courier
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PAKISTAN'S  
BLASPHEMY  LAWS  POSE  GROWING  THREAT
Pakistan's notorious "blasphemy" laws can put even children at risk, 
and Christians say the days when they could teach their offspring pat 
answers to protect them from accusations of disparaging Islam or its 
prophet seem to have passed. A Pakistani woman who grew up in Lahore 
said her Christian parents taught her formula answers to keep from 
falling prey to accusations under the blasphemy statutes, such as "I 
am a Christian, I can only tell you about Him." Now radical Islamists 
have begun influencing Pakistani society, and parents teach school 
children not to discuss religion, she said. "We just tell children, 
'Don't talk about religion in school.' This is shaky ground 
now."
Thousands of Pakistanis who think and believe differently from 
mainstream Muslims are at risk of being slandered under the blasphemy 
law. Personal vendettas from neighbours, co-workers and rivals are 
the most common reasons blasphemy law cases are filed, according to 
Paul Marshall of the Hudson Institute's Centre for Religious Freedom. 
"There are more victims from mobs and vigilantes than from the 
government itself" he said. "Pakistan is moving increasingly towards 
a state driven by fear of extremists, where even moderate politicians 
make conservative choices to appease Islamist threats."
Source: Compass  Direct  
News
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MARRIAGES  LASTING   
LONGER  NOW  IN  THE  U.S.A.
According to Census Bureau (CB) statistics, marriages in the United 
States are lasting longer than they have in some time. Americans are 
waiting longer to get married, and fewer choose at all, but among 
those who do, their marriages are staying together for a longer 
period of time. In fact, 3 out of 4 couples in the U.S. married after 
1990 celebrated their 10 year anniversary, say the statistics. 
Sociologists note that couples who are a little older when they marry 
tend to be more mature and more financially stable. According to W. 
Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project at the 
University of Virginia, there is also a link between education and 
marital longevity. 
They discovered that those without a college degree are 3 times more 
likely to divorce within 10 years of marriage. "People who are 
college-educated, more affluent or more religious are more likely to 
get married and stay married," explained Wilcox. The CB stats show 
that: more than half of the nation's married couples have been 
together at least 15 years. About a third have marked their 25th 
anniversaries, and 6 percent have been married more than 50 years. 
Read more interesting findings in this report at the source link 
provided.
Source: Washington  
Post
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U.K.  JUDGE  DEMANDS 
 POSITIVE  FAMILY  LAW  REFORM
"The terribly high incidence of family breakdown" in the U.K. demands 
sweeping reform, according to Sir Paul Coleridge, a justice in the 
family division of the High Court. Coleridge called on the 
government of David Cameron to make reforms in marriage and divorce 
legislation to address the problem. The judge has consistently 
promoted stable marriage as the key to a stable society and the 
antidote to the "social anarchy" of family breakdown and its 
disastrous effects on children. In a speech to Parliament, Justice 
Coleridge charged that couples engaging in a commitment-less game 
of"pass the partner" have left millions of children "scarred for 
life."
"I am drawing attention to the endless game of 'musical 
relationships,' or'pass the partner,' in which such a significant 
portion of the population is engaged. The children are caught up in 
the conflict of their parents' unresolved relationship issues and it 
can leave them scarred for life. Support for marriage makes pragmatic 
common sense because it is demonstrably in the public interest and 
ultimately saves money, Justice Coleridge stated.The judge said that 
family laws are decades out of date because of "the inactivity of 
lazy politicians," observing that current law cannot cope with the 
decline of marriage, the growth of cohabitation and the spread of 
divorce.
Source: LifeSite  
News
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MUSLIM  EXTREMISTS  
BURN  CHURCH  BUILDING  AND  HOMES  IN  NIGERIA
Christians from a local Evangelical Church in Winning have been 
displaced after Muslim extremists set their church building and some 
homes on fire last month. Muslims had approached Christian music shop 
owner Gabriel Kiwase and told him that his music was disturbing them 
as they said their prayers. The young Christian man quietly switched 
off the music, and 20 minutes after the Muslims left, they returned 
and burned down the music shop, then set fire to the pastor's house 
and the property of five other Christians. As a result of the 
destruction, most members of his church have fled the town, reducing 
attendance at services to around 50. 
Source: Compass  Direct  
News
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