All posts tagged: Germany

A COVID tale of two nations: Sweden vs Germany

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You may not have noticed, but the mainstream media isn’t talking about Sweden much anymore. This is quite a contrast from a few weeks ago, when the country was the favourite whipping boy because it didn’t employ a lockdown in its fight against COVID-19. The Daily Mail writes: Sweden became a closely-watched outlier in the spring after refusing to go into lockdown, with shops and restaurants staying open throughout the crisis.  Large gatherings were banned along with visits to nursing homes, but primary schools stayed open even in hard-hit Stockholm.  Citizens have largely complied with social distancing recommendations and the government says that its softer measures will be easier to maintain long-term.  On Monday, Sweden announced just 398 new cases over the weekend, down from 767 the week before and 2,530 only a month ago.  In fact, Swedish authorities are telling people not to wear masks, even on public transit. Sweden employed a herd immunity approach to the virus, meaning the best way to fight Covid was by letting people get it and build up …

Schiltach in the Black Forest of Germany Credit: Harke/Wikipedia

Pulling down the strongman in Germany’s Black Forest

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Christians need a major shift in perspective. It seems many have taken up a defensive position, holding out until Jesus returns. We need to standup, shake off our fears and refocus, because God wants us to take up our battering rams and go to war. There is a verse in Matthew that for years I misinterpreted. When I first read it, for some reason I believed that the church was under siege and that somehow Christians needed to hang on until the end. But in fact it said the exact opposite. God intends the Kingdom of God to be the aggressor and taking the battle to the enemy. In Mathew 16:18 (NKJ), Jesus said to Peter, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” The Greek word for Hades, ‘hadou’, refers to what we know as hell. The place of torment (Luke 16:23). And the gates guarding hell would not be able to hold up against …

Market Church in Wiesbaden, Germany. Photo: Kay Gaensler/Flickr/Creative Commons

Muslim refugees in Germany threaten ‘impure’ Christians

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According to an article on Breitbart, Christians in Germany’s migrant housing are being forced to hide their faith due to intimidation and death threats by Muslims. At a recent Frankfurt news conference, Mahin Mousapour said that Christians purposefully hide their crosses and Bibles to avoid hate attacks by Muslims. Mousapour is from Iran. A former Muslim, she became a Christian over 25 years ago  and now pastors Persian Father House, an Evangelical Free church in Frankfurt. Fearing reprisal, refugees tell people in their complex that they are only visiting friends when attending her church. Ms Mousapour was joined at the news conference by politician Erika Steinbach who serves as a member of the Bundestag. It is a German equivalent of the U.S. House of Representatives or Canada and England’s House of Commons. Mousapour said Muslims tell Christians that they are “impure as a dog” adding: “Toys of Christian children are being destroyed. Christian asylum seekers are told to not only wash their dishes after eating, but also they must clean the entire kitchen as it would otherwise be ‘unclean’.” …

Christmas is illegal in Brunei Photo Brunei water village/jkuba

Christmas is Cancelled, and Illegal

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Did you know Christmas is illegal in Saudi Arabia? Celebrating Christmas there can get you ten years in jail. The country is the home of Mecca, the holy city at the center of Islam. It is also one of the wealthiest nations in the world, with massive oil and gas deposits. Many foreigners work there, including thousands of committed Christians, and the economy needs them. During the first gulf war, American troops defended the Saudis against Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi army, and Christian chaplains led worship services. I think that was the first time that Christians worshiped legally and openly in Saudi Arabia. There are no reports of Jewish, Buddhist, or Hindu services. And now Christmas is illegal, and severely punished. The tiny country of Brunei on the island of Borneo is more lenient. Celebrating Christmas will only get you five years. Brunei has a population of less than half a million, and more than 30% of them are non-Muslim, but Muslim Sharia law has been imposed on everyone and it’s now illegal to wear a …

Cross and Muslim crescent in Cairo, Egypt. Photo Michael Swam/Flickr

Are hundreds of Muslim migrants converting to Christ?

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Reports are coming in of hundreds of Muslim migrants converting to Christianity in Germany. Most are Afghanistan or Iranian refugees. They are converting because they believe this decision would improve their chances of gaining asylum because having converted their life would be in danger if they were sent back. It is difficult to know if the conversions are legitimate. But during a baptismal service at the evangelical Trinity Church in Berlin, pastor Gottfried Martens asked an Iranian man, Mohammed Ali Zonoobi, if he was willing to: “break away from Satan and his evil deeds? Will you break away from Islam.” Without hesitation, Zonoobi, a former carpenter, who had fled to Germany along with his wife and two children answered, “yes.” Zonoobi stated in the interview that while in Iran he and his wife had secretly attended Bible classes and it was the arrest of fellow believers that resulted in him fleeing Iran. We have reported before that God is moving among Iranians and many are becoming Christians. The Daily Mail noted: “Several candidates for baptisms …

The Nazi poster girl for the Aryan race was actually Jewish

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In a bizarre twist the poster child for Nazi Germany’s “Perfect Aryan Baby” during World War II was actually Jewish. The Nazis believed Aryans were the superior race and considered other groups such as the Jews, as sub-human. The Nazis used the photo to promote its supremest race agenda. Hessy Taft was just six months old in 1935, when her mother, Pauline Levinsons, took her to a famous German photographer Hans Ballin for a baby photo. Unknown to the family, Ballin later submitted Taft’s photo to a contest initiated by the Nazi party to find the perfect Aryan baby. It appears that Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi party’s propaganda minister, chose Hessy’s photo as the winning picture. The photo would later appear on posters, post cards and other Nazi propaganda materials.

The little German woman who stood up to Islam

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On November 10, 2013, an interfaith musical was held at the “Memorial Church of the Reformation” in Speyer, Germany. The church serves as a memorial to Martin Luther, who started the reformation in Germany in 1517. His protest against the corruption in the Roman Catholic church at that time led to the formation of the breakaway protestant church. The organizers had invited a Muslim imam to issue a call to prayer during the concert as part of this interfaith effort to unite Christians and Muslims. When the little German woman Heidi Mund heard about the event, she felt she needed to do something and decided to attend the service even though it was an hour and half away. Heidi brought with her a German flag with the words, “Jesus Christ is Lord”  written on it.