All posts tagged: Christianity

Judge rules that it is not illegal to attend a house Church in Iran

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Morning Star News is reporting a surprise turn of events in Iran, when a judge overturned the conviction of Homayoun Zhaveh, 64, and his wife, Sara Ahmadi, 45, who had been found guilty of attending a home church in 2020. Despite persecution, Iran has one of the fastest-growing Christian populations in the world In 2019, Iran’s Intelligence Minister, Mahmoud Alavi, warned Muslim clerics at a gathering of Islamic leaders about the growth of Christianity in their country, Iranwire reported. He told the group that Muslims are converting to Christianity because they wanted peace and were tired of the violence being propagated by Islamic clerics. In an effort to hinder Christianity’s growth, the country’s intelligence agencies claimed that participation in house churches was a political threat to the country’s security. However, in overturning the conviction of the two Iranian Christians, the Appeals Court judge ruled that it was not illegal to attend a house church in Iran. He even suggested that it was ‘natural’ for people with a common faith to gather together. “The reports by …

Is organized religion dead? Are Christians history?

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Have you heard that organized religion is in decline, at least in North America? Apparently, we are witnessing a huge increase in people who claim to have no religious membership, especially in the United States. This increase in “nones”, people with no religion, and a decline in religious memberships has been happening for at least twenty years. This is a cultural trend, and the decline may be happening in other parts of the world. In 2014, Rowan Williams the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury said that the United Kingdom was a post-Christian society. In the Islamic Republic of Iran, where organized religion also controls the government, a young woman, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, was arrested recently, by the religious Morality Police. She was not wearing a head covering. She was supposed to wear a correct head covering, as a Muslim woman, but many women in Iran want to drop that requirement from their lives. Mahsa was arrested and detained, and somehow, she died in custody. Possibly, the police were too aggressive. Apparently, the reaction against that expression …

Despite increasing persecution, Christianity growing in Indonesia

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It defies logic, but according to a report by the Indonesian government, the Christian population in that Muslim-dominated country has grown by 1% over the past decade. With just over 86% of Indonesia’s population (272.2 million) identifying as Muslim, the country has the largest muslim population (236 million) of any country in the world. But the growth of Christianity is interesting considering the emergence of several Muslim extremist groups in recent years, that have been ramping up their persecution of Christians. This past spring, the government was forced to increase security for churches during Easter services after two militants, a husband and wife, who had pledged allegiance to the Islamic extremist group, ISIS, blew themselves up outside a church the previous Palm Sunday, injuring 20. Yet, despite this growing persecution, International Concern reports that as of June 2021, the government reported that 10.58% of its population is Christian (comprised of 20.4 million protests and 8.4 million Catholics). This is up from 9.87% of its population reporting as Christian in 2010. In real numbers, the Christian …

Christian Do Your Job!

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“Put me in coach, I’m ready!” How many coaches have heard this plea? And how many of us sitting on the bench are just waiting for our opportunity to shine, to show the world what we’re made of? In the past, a response may have been, “You’re not ready.” But now the response might be, “Put you in where?” A few years ago, it seemed like opportunities to shine were everywhere. Now, opportunities to just participate seem out of reach.  Ordinary life has been replaced by a blanket of illness and fear. This is even more complicated because of the credentials needed to participate. I have COVID at the time of this article. That means, according to our health authorities, I am immune from covid for about three months. A nurse told us that the vaccine immunity is for four months. Yet credentials to be put into the game include mask wearing, and in increasing cases, proof of vaccination. I get these things. I get that we need to feel safe. I also get that …

Pastor murdered after debate between Christianity and Islam

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According to Morning Star Ministries, a Pentecostal pastor in Eastern Uganda was allegedly killed by Muslim extremists shortly after engaging in a public debate between Christianity and Islam. Muslims in Pallisa Town, where Pastor Thomas Chikooma has his church, had been holding nightly discussions in a community park and decided as part of this to set up a public debate between Christianity and Islam. Though only 14% of Ugandans are Muslim, they are concentrated in the eastern region of the country where the debate took place. The Islamic group invited Pastor Chikooma, a popular minister who had established over 50 churches in the area, to speak on behalf of Christianity during the debate between to the two faiths. However, things did not go as anticipated for the Muslim organizers as Pastor Chikooma effectively used both the Bible and the Koran to present his case for Christianity. At the end, he invited those watching to receive Christ and according to reports, 14 people, including six Muslims, made a decision to become Christians. This turn of events …

Culture Relevance and Christianity

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There is so much confusion about truth these days. Our society is fighting among itself trying to convince the other side they are right and they are wrong. This feels and looks like war to me. Ideological and spiritual war. A well-known quote, many attribute to US Senator Hiram Johnson, claims that truth is the first casualty of war. Variations of this sentiment have been around for centuries and has its base in the notion that we vilify our enemies and romance our friends. The US and Canadian media do a great job of vilifying Conservative Christians and our beliefs in the Bible as the truth. The truth of God, even the inconvenient ones, are replaced with acquiesce to the cultural desires. Do what thou wilt has replaced the ten commandments. We see this shift taking place in many societies around the world. Here in Canada, our culture values sexual identity issues above religious freedom. Definitions change to exclude traditional families and Biblical values. The core of Christianity is being attacked as the Bible’s inspiration …

Christians: What happens when we quit?

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Are you a believer; in anything? Have you thought about quitting? Do you know anyone who has? The pandemic with the Covid virus has closed churches where I live, and it feels like everyone is dropping out. Quitting is like a modern fad. Often, millennials do not like the things that were important to baby boomers, especially religion. There is a growing trend these days, to quit religion. I have some close relatives who have done that. If you do an Internet search with “ex” and any belief, you will find many discussion sites. There are ex-Mormons, ex-Muslims, ex-Evangelicals, and probably any other belief you can think of. Some have video testimonials. I’m a Christian, so what should I do with this information? This is important. I was raised with the idea that new converts would find their way to the truth, but now we have reverts who leave. There are several possibilities: a) They never really believed. People easily drop out of ‘Churchianity’ if they have only joined a religious tribe. Subscribing to a …

God in Mongolia: Things are changing

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Until recently, Mongolia was controlled by Communists. The nation was a Soviet satellite, and a neighbor of Communist China. When the Soviet Union collapsed, life changed in Mongolia. One change was a rapid increase in the number of Christians. This is a new idea for most Mongols. It is easy for us to focus on ourselves and to believe that important things happen among us. The world is much bigger than us, and it is interesting to see what God is doing in some places that we might overlook. People matter in those places too. “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will worship before You.” (Psalm 22:27)

Following Jesus in Saudi Arabia?

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Something strange just happened in Saudi Arabia, the home of Mecca, the holiest place in Islam. Saudi Arabia could be described as the heartland of Islam, and it also has the highest infection rate for COVID 19 in its region. The Governor of Asir Province, which is in the south west of the country, has encouraged people to have faith as they confront the deadly disease.

News from the South Pacific: The brothers and sisters that we might miss

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It’s not all about us. There are many cultures and languages in the world, and Christians have many brothers and sisters, in many places. The way we think and act is not the only right way. One overlooked region is the South Pacific. People in those regions think and speak, and sing, about what matters to them. It is interesting to learn how our brothers and sisters tell us about the most important things. I hope we are open-minded enough to appreciate them.

Happiness in Azerbaijan, a good lesson for us all

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Can you find Azerbaijan on a map? It’s east of Turkey and north-west of Iran, or the Internet will show you. It’s a small country with more than ninety-nine percent Muslim and the remainder are Armenians who identify as Christians, so Christians are a tiny minority in the general population. We might expect stress and fear among that Christian minority, but some of them have a reason to be happy. They show that happiness or joy comes from God, and not from the surrounding circumstances. We should learn from them.

World changes that we never imagined: Indonesia

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One hundred and thirty million is a huge number. That is one estimate of the people in Indonesia who will make a radical change in their lives in the next decade. This is only one estimate, but change is coming to one of the largest countries in the world. This is a news story that is mostly ignored, but the world is changing around us. Change is uncomfortable for powerful people, but humans always think and act, and we should know that changes are coming. READ: Millions Secretly ‘Turn To Christ’ In Indonesia

Religious Arguments: When you are just not good enough

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I’m a Christian and I know what that means. I know, but most of the world seems to know what I should be. Whatever you believe, other people will try to make you into what they want you to be. You might hear ‘You people should …’ They have a preferred image for people like you and you are wrong if you don’t do follow the program. Unmarried marriage counsellors don’t play the game, but they do make the rules. When I was a student in a university, I took a course from a professor that we all liked. He was an excellent teacher, and we all enjoyed learning with him. He also talked openly about his connections with a church, and my family went to a church; I thought we had something in common. One day I had an appointment in his office, and after we finished talking about my assignment, I told him that my family went to … church. I expected a smile, at least. I still remember that severe look on …

Controversy reveals startling truth about Christianity’s growth in Africa

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Most Christians in western countries don’t know that there is another world out there. God is working in the whole world. Some Nigerian pastors in mega churches are being criticized, and it’s easy to focus on the criticism and miss the sheer size of their work. They wouldn’t be noticed by the critics if they didn’t have millions of followers. We are living in a time of Christian ‘future shock.’ There are some things we should know about Africa. Christians in countries like Nigeria are spreading their influence around the world. Christians in Africa numbered about nine million in 1900, and today they are about 380 million. READ: Letter from Africa: The power of religion The world is changing around us.

Documentary tells of the explosive growth of the house church movement in Iran

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According to a documentary released in August, the explosive growth of Christianity in Iran is a result of a rapidly expanding house church movement with most being led by women. The documentary entitled Sheep Among Wolves was produced by Frontier Alliance International (FAI) and looked at the growth of Christianity in Iran perhaps one of the most repressive regimes in the world. And we know Christianity is growing because of the repeated public statements made by Iranian officials and religious leaders in recent years warning of Christianity’s growth. In their video, FAI explained what was behind the unusual growth. In its trailer, the documentary noted: “The Iranian awakening is a rapidly-reproducing discipleship movement that owns no property or buildings, has no central leadership and is predominantly led by women.” In the video they were forced to disguise the Iranian believers because of fear of arrest. One Iranian Christian said “What if I told you the mosques are empty inside Iran.” He went on to say that the political and the elites are the ones who …

Chinese Communist Party's hammer and sickle appearing along side McDonalds Credit: Phillip McMaster/Flickr/Creative Commons

Just in time for Easter: Chinese city offers a Judas’ reward for citizens turning in Christians

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I have written several articles in the past how China has taken a sharp turn to the left under its latest president Xi Jingping. The communist trademark hammer and sickle is showing up in public displays around China. Now Asia News is reporting that the Chinese city of Guangzhou is offering rewards of as much as $1,500 US for people to turn in Christians to authorities. Over the previous couple of decades China entered an unprecedented time of prosperity and freedom. During this time, Christianity, that was flourishing in the underground church, moved above ground and this resulted in the construction of several mega churches. However, under Jingping this is all changing. The government is now cracking down on these churches. In early December, police demolished one of the the country’s largest church, The Golden Lampstand Church in Shanxi Province, using dynamite and heavy machinery. As a result of this crackdown, Christians are heading back underground where they flourished before Jingping gained tyrannical control of the nation. Now the leaders of Guangzhou want its citizens …

Credit: Sydney Daoust/Flickr/Creative Commons

Oh, you are such a loser!

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A new buzz word in pop psychology is “vulnerable.” There is some good advice out there, and this idea can be good for us. If I looked at you and said “loser!” I would be rude, and you would take that as an insult. We learned that in elementary school. So, “loser!” I just called you a loser, and you can say the same to me. If we are not losers, we are failures. Every Christian should know the words in the Bible “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) That is the bedrock of our Christian faith. Jesus made it right, after we made it wrong. A few days ago, I had a meeting with an old friend. We talked about business and we also had time to catch up on our personal stories, like old friends. This man is a Christian, my brother in Christ, and he described himself as …

Polwarth, England Credit: Hamish Irvine/Flickr/Creative commons

The Critical Mass: How We Can Fail

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On Sunday, in church, the pastor told us about people who had been helped in the last year. He told testimonial stories about cancer patients and struggling families. And then he told us about a man who had walked into the church to learn more. He was not a Christian, but he was interested. The pastor talked to him and gave him a book, and a few weeks later the man called to say that he had decided to become a Christian. Now he attends the Sunday services as a new Christian, growing in his faith. The man’s name is Mohammed. We live in interesting times. Now Muslim majority countries are modernizing, and Muslims are migrating to other countries with high levels of personal freedom. That means people can break free from the group, and choose how they want to live. This is becoming a crisis, as some young Muslims identify as atheists. Others, like Mohammed, choose another religion. RELATED: Losing their religion: the hidden crisis of faith among Britain’s young Muslims: The Guardian The …

China’s insidious attack on the underground Church

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The Chinese government has recently instituted an insidious attack on Christians in that country after distributing a survey to all teachers and parents. The communist party who has ruled China for decades is trying to crack down on the rapidly growing Christian population. The changes are being instituted by President Xi Jinping. Described as a fanatical Maoist, he is trying to consolidate the communist party’s control of China. In an interview with the Christian Post, Bob Fu who heads Christian Aid believes the real concern is that there are now more Christians in China than members of the communist party. There are two types of Christian churches in China. One group is controlled by the state through its State Administration for Religious Affairs (SARA). These legal churches are required to register with one of three organizations such  as the Three-self Patriotic Movement. There are about 57,000 government-sanctioned churches (both Catholic and Protestant). The second group is the larger unregistered house church movement. It is difficult to nail down how many Christians China has due largely …

Fall sunset over Zurich, Switzerland. Photo: Werner_B/Flickr/Creative Commons

Swiss agency reports large numbers of Muslims converting to Christ

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It’s happening all across Europe — Germany, England, Austria — Muslims are turning to Christ by the thousands. Despite all that is happening, the Holy Spirit is moving. The latest country added to that list is Switzerland. According to Switzerland’s Counselling Center for Integration and Religious Affairs (CCIRA), since 2004 over 2,000 Muslim refugees have become Christians. And it does not appear that the conversion rates will be slowing down any time soon. The ones turning to Christ are mostly Kurds and Afghans. In an interview with a Swiss TV news program, 20 Minutes, CCIRA coordinator Kathrin Anliker said a couple of factors are at play here. First Muslims are increasingly horrified by the brutality of extremists in the Middle East. Just recently a Sharia court in ISIS controlled Mosul, Iraq ordered nine young men to be publicly executed. According to reports, ISIS accused the nine of being members of a resistance movement.  The court ordered the men be tied to iron posts then cut in half with a chain saw. Secondly, Anliker noticed that some of the refugees had …

The Muslim Qur'an written several centuries after the Bible states that Jesus never died on the cross. Photo: Katrine Kaarsemaker/Flickr/Creative Commons

Is Jesus the slave of Allah?

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ISIS puts out quarterly Arabic magazine called Dabiq. Also available in English, in its  latest issue ISIS reveals the stark contrast that Muslims have in their concept of God with Christians. In its publication entitled “Break the Cross,” ISIS tells the world that Jesus is “the slave of Allah.” It was part of the overall theme of the magazine attacking Christianity and particularly our concept of Jesus. The Muslim Qur’an speaks a lot about Jesus and even Jesus’ mother Mary has more verses dedicated to her than the prophet Muhammad. According to the Qur’an, Jesus is considered a prophet of Allah (Surah 2:136) and one who performed miracles including raising the dead and healing the sick (Surah 3:49). Many Muslims look upon Jesus as the healing prophet. Muslims do not believe Jesus is God or even the Son of God (Surah 19:88-92) because in their thinking the latter meant God had sex with Mary. Of course, the Bible does not say that. The Holy Spirit conceived Jesus supernaturally and even Mary was shocked by her …

Another media report of Muslims turning to Christ in significant numbers, this time in Stoke-on-Trent, England. Photo: Stoke-on-Trent, Futurilla/Flickr/Creative Commons

Media reports Muslims turning to Christianity in England

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I have written several articles on Muslims converting to Christianity in unprecedented numbers. Stories tell of Muslims turning to Christ after Jesus appeared to them in dreams, a fulfillment of Joel 2:28. In Iran, thousands are becoming Christians despite the fear of persecution when they make that decision. And now with the recent influx of hundreds of thousands of Muslims into Europe, several secular media report that thousands of Muslims — many fed up with the violence of the extremists — are becoming Christians across Europe. Now we can add England to this list. A prominent English newspaper, The Guardian wrote a curious article on what is happening at Church of St. Mark in Stoke-on-Trent, England. The story stated that one recent Saturday morning, 15 Muslim refugees were baptized in the church. Rev Sally Smith who serves as the church’s vicar, says that three to four Muslims turn to Christianity weekly. According to the article, part of the reason for the growth is that the church is supplying the refugees assistance in the form of …

Photo: Leonard J Matthews/Flickr/Creative Commons

How Christianity is dying …. or is it?

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There is a huge debate about Christianity these days. Many people thinks it’s an antique ideology, disappearing rapidly. I don’t want to argue, but my recent experience might help. My home city used to be the Bible belt of Canada. Our provincial premier, similar to a state governor, was also a Baptist radio preacher. My brother once went to a children’s meeting at the Fundamentalist Baptist Church, and a dignified older man said hello. That was him. We also had a mention in “Ripley’s Believe it or Not” for Holy Row, or Church Street, a small area with the highest concentration of churches in the world. That Ripley’s thing might be an urban legend but we all believed it. Today, that inner city street is crowded with old churches and my personal favourite is the Danish Lutheran building. Some of those churches are still open, but Holy Row not so holy now. A few years ago my church moved to some place north of the city, into cow and chicken country, and I moved south; …

Guarding Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China Photo: Stephan Rebernik/Flickr/Creative Commons

China: When church and governments collide

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In 2014, speaking at a religious forum in Shanghai, Wang Zuoan a senior bureaucrat with China’s State Administration for Religious Affairs told of the government’s plans to “nationalize” Christianity in that country. Though Zuoan didn’t couch it in exactly those terms he spoke of Christian theology adapting to Chinese conditions and culture. There was no doubt in the minds of Chinese Christians that this meant the communist party was planning to take over Christianity and use it to promote its platform. Since that announcement, the Chinese government has moved forward on its plan, that included the removal of crosses from Churches. To date citing building code violations over 1,200 crosses have been removed and in some instances churches destroyed. The government even sent a number of Christians to jail for opposing the cross removals including Pastor Huang Yizi, from the eastern province of Zhejiang. The government also recently sentenced Pastor Bao Guohua and his wife Xing Wenxiang to 14 years in prison for leading opposition to crosses being removed. The government also falsely accused them …