AUSTRALIAN   PRAYER   NETWORK   NEWSLETTER

• MORE THAN 100 CHRISTIANS KILLED IN NIGERIA
• MUSLIM EXTREMISTS IN SUDAN THREATEN TO TARGET CHRISTIANS
• HOME BIBLE STUDY GROUP FINED IN CALIFORNIA
• HOMOSEXUAL GROUPS USE PRESSURE TACTICS ON PAY PAL
• STUDY REVEALS CHRISTIAN MEN MAKE BETTER HUSBANDS
• JERSEY POST CLASSIFIES BIBLE CD AS OFFENSIVE MATERIAL

MORE THAN 100 CHRISTIANS KILLED IN NIGERIA

A rash of attacks by armed Muslim extremists on villages in Nigeria ¢â‚¬â„¢s Plateau state in the past month have left more than 100 Christians dead, including the elimination of entire families. In one guerrilla-type  ¢â‚¬Å“hit and run ¢â‚¬  attack on the Christian community of Vwang Kogot, Muslim attackers killed 14 Christians, including a pregnant woman. Survivors of the attack said that the assailants raided the village with the aid of men in military uniforms of the Nigerian Army. Many of the victims were members of a single family. Dachung Dagai, pastor of a Church of Christ congregation in Vwang Kogot, said that the village has been attacked three times since he arrived eight months ago.

 ¢â‚¬Å“We heard gunshots in our village and realized that the sound was coming from a neighbour ¢â‚¬â„¢s house, so we quickly ran to find out what was happening but saw a soldier at the entrance of the house with a gun ready to shoot at anybody who comes around, and at the same time preventing those inside from escaping, ¢â‚¬  village resident Markus Mamba said.  ¢â‚¬Å“We couldn ¢â‚¬â„¢t get any closer because we were hearing gunshots at random, and we had no weapons with us to use to withstand the might of those soldiers, as there were quite a number of them around the house. ¢â‚¬  Hiding, Mamba and others could only observe the killing, he said.

 ¢â‚¬Å“After the soldiers and the Muslims left, we rushed into the place to see the destruction they did, ¢â‚¬  he said.  ¢â‚¬Å“We discovered that 14 people were killed. Among them was a pregnant woman who died with a child in her womb  ¢â‚¬“ bringing the number of deaths to 15 persons. We also observed that the victims died from gun and machete wounds. ¢â‚¬  Gyang Badung survived the attack, but his wife, four children, mother, grandmother and a nephew did not, he said.  ¢â‚¬Å“I came home in the evening and had my meal, and right after I finished, I heard strange movement around our house and suddenly heard gunshots everywhere as my house was being attacked, ¢â‚¬  Badung said.

He jumped through his bedroom window and ran to a farm behind his house, he said.  ¢â‚¬Å“I waited in the bush, helpless, not knowing what to do until they left, ¢â‚¬  he said.  ¢â‚¬Å“I saw more than nine people who came to attack us leaving into the bush and going away from our village. When I returned home, I found out that my whole family had been killed except for two sons, who were injured but survived, and my father who also narrowly escaped and ran into the bush. ¢â‚¬  The ages of the children he lost were 15, 9, 5, and 4. His two injured sons are receiving hospital treatment.

Vou Mallam, another survivor of the attack, was with her husband and children when the raiders broke into their house. She escaped death when she found a hiding place in one of the rooms. Her husband, only son and grandchildren were killed.  ¢â‚¬Å“After our evening meal, we prayed and asked the children to go to bed, ¢â‚¬  she said.  ¢â‚¬Å“Suddenly we heard gunshots in our house, so I quickly crawled into the children ¢â‚¬â„¢s room and put off the lamp and crawled again to hide under the bed in another place. I saw a soldier with a gun coming into the room, but he did not see me, and I heard some of them saying by the window,  ¢â‚¬ËœThere is nobody here. ¢â‚¬â„¢

 ¢â‚¬Å“But it was like they heard a movement and immediately started shooting. That was how they killed my husband in the place he was hiding, and my only son and his children in the other room were all killed. ¢â‚¬  She said she heard the assailants speaking the Fulani language. Ethnic Fulani are primarily Muslim nomads in Nigeria whom militant Muslims appear to be enlisting to attack Christian communities due to the Fulanis ¢â‚¬â„¢ expert understanding of the terrain of rural communities, area Christians said. Having lived their lives as nomads with their cattle, the Fulani have acquired the skills to surmount tough environmental challenges, area residents believe.

The villagers main concern is that Nigerian army soldiers have been involved in each attack and are asking,  ¢â‚¬Å“What is the government doing about the soldiers? ¢â‚¬  A spokesperson for the villagers said that In some places, enough evidence has been found against these Muslim soldiers and nothing has been done.  ¢â‚¬Å“Can ¢â‚¬â„¢t the soldiers be withdrawn from the state? We are not in a war situation on the plateau, and the soldiers were brought for peace-keeping, but they are the ones leading attacks against us. Why can ¢â‚¬â„¢t they be withdrawn? The government officials have always said they will look into the problems, but nothing has been done ¢â‚¬  the spokesperson said.

 ¢â‚¬Å“This is the 5th time our people have been murdered. We want the government to help us do something; if not, we can ¢â‚¬â„¢t live here again. We have made appeals to the federal government, ¢â‚¬  the spokesperson said.  ¢â‚¬Å“We have told them that the Muslims in the area have lots of sophisticated weapons, and that they are the ones attacking my people, but the federal government has refused to do anything about it.   We complained to a federal government delegation that came to investigate the killing of eight family members of another family last month, but our concerns and fears have been ignored ¢â‚¬  he said.

Source: Compass Direct News

MUSLIM EXTREMISTS IN SUDAN THREATEN TO TARGET CHRISTIANS

Muslim extremists have sent text messages to at least 10 church leaders in Khartoum saying they are planning to target Christian leaders, buildings and institutions. One text message said  ¢â‚¬Å“We want this country to be a purely Islamic state, so we must kill the infidels and destroy their churches all over Sudan. ¢â‚¬  Church leaders said they fear more persecution as they and their flocks become targets of local Islamists. In addition, Muslim extremists from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh arrive in Sudan every 2 weeks to undergo training in secret camps before being sent to various parts of Sudan to preach Islam and demolish church buildings, according to a Christian source.

On July 18 a group of Muslim extremists attacked the home of the Anglican Bishop Andudu Elnail in an attempt to kill him and two other pastors, Luka Bulus and Thomas Youhana, who all happened to be out of the house at the time. No one was hurt, but the assailants left a threatening letter warning them of similar attacks to come. Bulus is a supporter of the Sudan Peoples ¢â‚¬â„¢ Liberation Movement, a southern Sudan militant group long locked in battle with northern government forces, further making him a target of Islamic extremists. Bulus is still in hiding whilst Muslim extremists continue to search for him, the sources said.

 ¢â‚¬Å“We are aware of your anti-Islamic activities, ¢â‚¬  the letter left in Bishop Elnail ¢â‚¬â„¢s home states.  ¢â‚¬Å“We have been monitoring the evangelization that you carry out these days, and therefore we declare Jihad against you. ¢â‚¬  The letter left on the gate of the bishop ¢â‚¬â„¢s house asserts that Sudan is an Islamic land, and that the authors secretly plan to carry out a series of attacks to destroy church buildings across  ¢â‚¬Å“Sudan, ¢â‚¬  which denotes the north following the secession of South Sudan on July 9.  ¢â‚¬Å“We declare Jihad against you in order to protect Muslims from your infidel influence, because you are the enemy of Islam, ¢â‚¬  it states.

Christian sources in Khartoum said they take the threats seriously.    ¢â‚¬Å“These people are not joking  ¢â‚¬“ they can kill any Christian, ¢â‚¬  said a church leader. Bishop Elnail told a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee on Africa on Aug. 4 that he was not sure he would be alive if he had not been called to Washington to testify.  ¢â‚¬Å“I am told that armed men went house to house, searching for me, calling my name, ¢â‚¬  Elnail said.    ¢â‚¬Å“The Muslims are targeting us in fear that many Muslims will leave Islam for Christianity, ¢â‚¬  says a Lutheran Evangelical Church of the Sudan letter, written in Arabic, that was circulated to churches in Khartoum.

In Ansar Al Suna Mosque, preachers publicly insult Christianity every Friday, a Christian source said. Hostilities toward Christians by the Islamic government in Khartoum began to increase last year following a statement by President Omar al-Bashir, when he asserted that his second republic would be based on sharia (Islamic law) and Islamic culture, with Arabic as the official language. The Rev. Ramadan Liol, general secretary of the Sudan Council of Churches, said that threats have caused Christians to stay away from some church services, and some government leaders have ordered pastors to close down churches without proper documentation.

Source: Compass Direct News

HOME BIBLE STUDY GROUP FINED IN CALIFORNIA

Did you ever think you ¢â‚¬â„¢d see the day in America when the government would harass you for studying the Bible in your own home? That day has finally come, and it ¢â‚¬â„¢s a danger to the home church movement that ¢â‚¬â„¢s spreading across the US. A Southern California city is demanding that a small home Bible study group stop meeting unless they obtain a cost-prohibitive permit. Homeowners Chuck and Stephanie Fromm were fined $300 for holding the Bible study. The Fromms appealed the ruling to the city of San Juan Capistrano.  ¢â‚¬Å“Imposing a heavy-handed permit requirement on a home Bible study is outrageous, ¢â‚¬  says Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute.

A hearing office told Fromm that regular gatherings of more than three people require a conditional use permit. Officials also stated that further religious gatherings in the home would be subject to a $500 fine per meeting. Fromm appealed. The city rejected the appeal. Now, the Pacific Justice Institute is taking the next step by appealing to the California Superior Court in Orange County. Fromm says there was no noise beyond normal conversation and quiet music on the home stereo system. The Christians met inside the Fromm ¢â‚¬â„¢s family room and patio area. Many neighbours have written letters of support, denying they were disturbed by the presence of the Bible study.

The group is not affiliated with any particular church, nor is it seeking to establish a church in the home. However, the city of San Juan Capistrano is insisting the home Bible study is not allowed because it is a  ¢â‚¬Å“church, ¢â‚¬  and churches require a Conditional Use Permit in residential areas.  ¢â‚¬Å“An informal gathering in a home cannot be treated with suspicion by the government, or worse than any other gathering of friends, just because it is religious, ¢â‚¬  Dacus says.  ¢â‚¬Å“We cannot allow this to happen in America, and we will fight as long and as hard as it takes to restore this group ¢â‚¬â„¢s religious freedom. ¢â‚¬ 

Source: Charisma News

HOMOSEXUAL GROUPS USE PRESSURE TACTICS ON PAY PAL

Homosexual activists are pressuring PayPal to not handle donations made to groups that promote traditional values, but one pro-family organization is encouraging the e-commerce business to be fair. The homosexual activist group All Out is asking PayPal to immediately shut down the online accounts of ten groups it has labelled as “anti-homosexual extremist groups.” Most of the groups are U.S.-based. PayPal reportedly has responded, saying it could not comment on individual accounts and must take “the rights of free speech and freedom of religion” into account.

One of the groups singled out by the effort is Illinois-based Americans for Truth About Homosexuality (AFTAH). Founder Peter LaBarbera refers to it as “homofascism in action,” as it asks people to stop financially supporting Christian groups, which the homosexual activists refer to as “hate groups.” “The goal of the homosexual lobby is clear, which is to box out Christians and pro-family groups from the marketplace of ideas,” LaBarbera notes. “They’re using tactics like this, pressure tactics, against corporations now to silence people of faith.”

And he points out that the secular media is not covering the pro-family movement, or the homosexual activist groups’ attacks against it, including financially. “They’re treating pro-family groups like pariahs,” the AFTAH founder compares. “It’s a very dirty tactic, because we’re not about hate; we’re about loving people enough to tell them the truth. But it doesn’t matter what you say. The homosexual lobby — if you’re against homosexuality — they will come after you very aggressively, and that’s what’s happening here.” So LaBarbera is encouraging people to contact PayPal and urge them to simply be fair and not succumb to the pressure of homosexual groups.

Source: OneNewsNow

STUDY REVEALS CHRISTIAN MEN MAKE BETTER HUSBANDS

Studies undertaken by a sociology professor at the University of Virginia, has concluded that men who regularly attend Christian services are engaged in happier and stronger marriages and are more involved in the lives of their children than men who do not. The report explained that 70% of husbands who attend church regularly report they are ‘very happy’ in their marriages, compared to 59% of husbands who rarely or never attend church.” The studies also indicated that wives experienced more marital happiness when their husbands attended regular religious services.

This is likely one of the significant reasons why the studies showed that married couples who attended regular Christian services were approximately 35% less likely to divorce than those couples who did not. The research also looked at the effect religion has on the relationships between fathers and their children. Fathers who attended regular Christian services spent an average of two more hours a week engaged in youth-activities with their children than fathers who did not attend regular services. Christian fathers also spent more one-on-one time with their children and were 65% more likely to hug and praise their children.

The studies also found that children born inside of wedlock had much more “involved, affectionate, and consistent relationships” with their fathers. The report concluded “This brief provides an array of evidence indicating that religion is an answer to the male tendency for fathers to become detached, emotionally or physically, from their children and the mothers of their children. It found that fathers who are religious, and who have partners who are religious, are, on average, more likely to be happily married, to be engaged and affectionate parents, and to get and stay married to the mothers of their children.”

Source: LifeSiteNews

JERSEY POST CLASSIFIES BIBLE CD AS OFFENSIVE MATERIAL

Postal workers in Jersey refused to deliver CDs of St Mark ¢â‚¬â„¢s Gospel, deeming it  ¢â‚¬Å“offensive material ¢â‚¬ . Several churches had clubbed together to pay for 45,000 CDs to be delivered to every household in Jersey to mark the anniversary of the King James Bible. But church leaders were left reeling after Jersey Post claimed that the CDs could offend people and refused to deliver them. Rev Liz Hunter of the Methodist Centre said:  ¢â‚¬Å“Initially Jersey Post seemed quite positive about helping us. But then a couple of weeks ago somebody from their marketing department phoned to say they would be unable to deliver them on the grounds that they could be deemed offensive. ¢â‚¬ 

They said there were guidelines about mass material being sent out across the island and that religious recordings could offend people. ¢â‚¬    Kevin Keen, Jersey Post Chief Executive, has since admitted they got it wrong. Mr Keen said:  ¢â‚¬Å“This decision was made on the basis of our guidelines which state that we have the right to refuse to distribute something that is  ¢â‚¬Ëœpromotional material which could cause offence ¢â‚¬â„¢.  ¢â‚¬Å“Clearly this was interpreted in the wrong way. I have spoken to the person involved and have written to all of my colleagues asking that they come to me if there is any doubt in their mind in the future. ¢â‚¬  The Mark ¢â‚¬â„¢s Gospel recordings are now being delivered by volunteers.

Source: The Christian Institute

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