Persecution Fridays: Iran – “Dismantle Evangelism”
March 25, 2011 at 6:30 am | Posted in VOM Fridays | Leave a commentTags: abortion, Ali Khamenei, America, attack, Ayatollah, Bible, burn, Christian, church, class, compromise, contraband, convert, death, detention, deviate, dismantle, evangelism, faith, fear, God, gospel, government, grace, guard, hell, holy, homosexual, hope, house, inaction, inflammatory, Iran, Islam, Israel, Jesus, judgment, law, life, love, marriage, mercy, mislead, Morteza Tamaddon, murder, New Testament, pastor, peace, prayer, province, public, Qom, radical, repent, revolutionary, rhetoric, salvation, scholar, scripture, seminary, shake, Shi'ite, sin, Tehran, ten commandments, truth, Vahid Khorasani
For more news on what’s really happening to Christians around the world go to the Voice of the Martyrs website: www.persecution.com
Iran: Dismantle Evangelism
Iran’s Religious Leaders Continue Public Attacks on Christianity
Ayatollah Vahid Khorasani spoke out against Christianity and evangelism during a recent religious class at the Islamic seminary in Qom, Iran. On Wednesday, March 9, Khorasani stated, “People [in Iran] have become Christians, and Shiite youths are being misled by Christianity.” His statements were published on the government website “Ayandeh.”
Khorasani told his students, “There is no one to tell to the government officials what this misled and distracted Christian evangelism is doing even in Qom.” Qom, an important religious city for Shiites, is home to the largest center for Shiite scholarship in the world. “Christian-deviated teachings are being diverted to our nation,” Khorasani said. “If the authorities even assume that something is going to shake their power, they will confront it with full force, but they do nothing against these evangelists who are misleading our Shiite youth population.”
Khorasani joins several other religious and political leaders in acknowledging the rapid growth of Christianity in Iran and criticizing the government’s inaction. During an October 2010 visit to Qom, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned against the growth of house churches in Iran. He called house churches “enemies of Islam.” Using similar rhetoric, the governor of Tehran Province, Morteza Tamaddon, has called Christians “radicals who want to corrupt and divert the body of Islam.”
The inflammatory words of Iran’s leaders seem to reflect a rising fear of Christianity within the government. In recent months, Christians in Iran have faced a systematic wave of arrests, and new converts from Islam have been especially targeted. More than 200 Christians have been imprisoned since Christmas. To date, 20 of them have seen no progress in their cases, and they continue to face difficult circumstances inside detention centers.
Evidence of the Iranian government’s disdain for Christianity continues to mount. During a routine inspection of a bus at a border crossing recently, the office of Contraband Search and Seizure, along with members of the revolutionary guard, discovered two boxes containing 300 New Testaments each. The revolutionary guards seized the boxes and burned the Bibles.
Persecution Friday: Pakistan
March 11, 2011 at 9:26 am | Posted in VOM Fridays | Leave a commentTags: abortion, abuse, Al Qaeda, America, Asia Bibi, assassinated, ateasetees, BBC, Bible, blasphemy, bodyguard, bullet, Christian, church, compromise, cross, death, evangelism, faith, God, gospel, governor, grace, hell, holy, hope, Islamabad, Israel, Jesus, judgment, Kalashnikov, law, life, love, marriage, mercy, minister, Minorities, money, murder, Pakistan, pastor, peace, People's Party, politician, prayer, Punjab, repent, Salman Taseer, salvation, scripture, Shahbaz Bhatti, sin, Taliban, ten commandments, truth, unfair
For more news on what’s really happening to Christians around the world go to the Voice of the Martyrs website: www.persecution.com
Pakistan: Christian Minister Killed
Pakistan’s only Christian cabinet member, Shahbaz Bhatti, was assassinated by gunmen on March 2, 2011. Shahbaz, a member of the ruling Pakistan People’s Party, ardently advocated reforming Pakistan’s blasphemy law, which is often used against Christians. He is the second politician killed for criticizing the blasphemy law and calling for the release of convicted Christian Asia Bibi. The governor of Punjab province, Salman Taseer, was killed on Jan. 4 after he publicly spoke out against the law. Several armed men opened fire on Shahbaz’s car in a residential neighborhood of Islamabad. Two of the men pulled Shahbaz’s driver out of the car while the third man repeatedly fired his Kalashnikov into the vehicle. Shahbaz was killed instantly. Pakistani television carried images of his bullet-riddled car.
Pamphlets attributed to Al-Qaeda and a branch of the Pakistani Taliban were distributed at the scene, warning that anyone who criticized the blasphemy law would be killed. Last November, Shahbaz joined Governor Taseer in championing the case of Asia Bibi, a Christian woman who was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to death. Shahbaz had been receiving death threats since the governor’s murder. He said in several interviews that he was “the highest target right now,” but he vowed to continue his work and trusted his life to God, according to Compass Direct News. “I don’t believe that bodyguards can save me after the assassination [of Taseer],” he said. “I believe in the protection from heaven.”
Shahbaz was a committed Christian. In a BBC video recorded just four months ago, Shahbaz said, “I want to share that I believe in Jesus Christ, who has given his own life for us. I know what is the meaning of cross. And I am following the cross.” He joined the Pakistan People’s Party in 2002 and was appointed the Federal Minister for Minorities in 2008, the first Christian to hold the position. According to Release International’s CEO, Andy Dipper, “Shahbaz was an uncompromising supporter of minorities in Pakistan who face abuse and unfair treatment. He was fully aware of the risks in speaking out. Extremists have succeeded in destroying another good man.”
Badges
March 9, 2011 at 12:32 pm | Posted in Christianity | Leave a commentTags: abortion, America, Apollos, argue, ateasetees, badge, baptize, Bible, blunt, Cephas, Christian, church, compromise, Corinth, crucify, death, debate, division, edify, energy, equip, evangelism, faith, God, gospel, grace, grow, harsh, hell, holy, honor, hope, humble, ignorance, Israel, Jesus, John Calvin, John MacArthur, label, law, life, love, Mark Dever, marriage, Martin Luther, mercy, money, mouthpiece, murder, neglect, pastor, Paul, Paul Washer, peace, Phil Johnson, pious, prayer, R.C. Sproul, random, repent, saint, salvation, scripture, season, sect, sharpen, sin, ten commandments, theology, truth
I write this not knowing exactly where it’s going to go or how it’s going to sound, so if I sound a little harsh or it rambles on a little bit, please forgive me. Lately, I’ve been thinking about something and it was sparked by some of the things that I’ve seen and heard over the past week or so. There have been instances where I’ve seen Christians talking about something that is dear to them and when someone disagrees with them, they are instantly defensive. Or, if things aren’t like they think they should be, those that are not lining up with their view aren’t saved, or at the very least are seen as lesser because they don’t agree. It’s kind of sad really. It did get me thinking however.
I’ve been a Christian for about 10 years now. In that 10 years, I’ve seen and done a lot of things. Some of those things I wish I could take back. I was a part of the Word of Faith “movement” for awhile. Ignorance isn’t pretty sometimes. By the grace of God, I’ve been drawn out of that and have become sounder in my understanding of scripture. I’ve also been a part of Precept Ministries for about 6 years. When I say “a part”, I don’t work there. What I mean is that I see (and others seem to feel this way too) that those who are involved with Precept on any level are one big family. I know of two or three people that I bug almost constantly with questions and they never seem to mind.
All of this comes to my point very randomly. It seems that it is very easy for Christians to wear everything they believe like a badge. They do this with just about anything really. They do it with their denomination, which version of the Westminster confession (or other confessions) they hold to, they do it with the teachers they follow, and it can even get down to music style or type of service they have. This past week I stopped and began to look at this. From what I see in scripture, there isn’t supposed to be this kind of divisive attitude:
Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, so that no one would say you were baptized in my name. Now I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized any other. For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. (1 Corinthians 1:10-17)
Here, Paul says that there shouldn’t be divisions, but there are. I’ve heard snide remarks concerning all kinds of different Christians beliefs and ideas. I’ve even seen the kind of separation that Paul talks about here. I’ve seen people argue over whether or not you’re a Calvinist and those that aren’t (or haven’t thought about it, or didn’t know, or don’t really concern themselves with it) are looked down upon. It’s like their saying “I’m of Calvin” and those who aren’t are somehow not as pious. I’ve seen the same thing happen with popular teachers of today’s time (or even of times past). People like John MacArthur, R.C. Sproul, Paul Washer, Mark Dever, Phil Johnson, and others have had their names brought up in arguments like they are the leader of a completely different sect of Christianity. I doubt that any of them would approve.
I’ve seen arguments where someone will ask a question or point something out to think about and another will respond with a link to what John MacArthur says on the subject. Or they will talk about what R.C. Sproul says about it. Or Calvin, or Luther, or Dever, or any one of a number of other great men and women. My question about this is, should it matter? I am glad to read what any of these men and women say because they are all much, much smarter than I am, but at what point do we stop and look at the scriptures ourselves? When do we become in danger of putting these men/women and their teachings above scripture itself? Do I agree with everything that John MacArthur teaches? Nope. (Some of you may have just started praying for my salvation and that’s ok….I appreciate the thought) Does that mean that I think that everything he teaches is wrong? Nope. I just disagree with him on some things. The same thing goes for the other men listed. None of them got it/get it completely right! Gasp! I know, I have said things that would rile up many people, but these are things that the men above already know. They know that they don’t have everything right. If they did, they would be God, and last time I checked they’re not.
This doesn’t keep people that listen to their teachings from wearing the names of these men like a badge. John Calvin would be appalled at the use of his name in the way it is today because he was a humble man who didn’t want the attention for himself. He didn’t even have his grave marked so that no one would attribute anything to him that he didn’t deserve. Luther was the same way. And, from what I understand of many of today’s great teachers, they would be in agreement with this. So, if that is the view of those men, why isn’t it our own? Why do we continue to wear someone’s name or ideas like a badge? Why are we quicker to throw out something they wrote than what the scriptures say? It doesn’t make sense to me.
While I cannot say the exact reason for every instance of this happening, I can think of a few that might be the case. One reason may be that the people posting the other stuff haven’t studied the scriptures themselves. It is much easier to find ready-made bits of theological argument to toss out instead of doing the work yourself. Another reason may be that they agree with what the other person said. That’s all well and good, and I find myself in this place often enough. But I have tried not to just become another mouthpiece for any man, regardless of how good or respected a teacher they are. I would rather take what they say and compare it to scripture (like the Bereans) in order to make sure that it’s right. I’ve been burned often enough for taking something someone else wrote at face value only to find out later that it is completely wrong.
Instead of wearing someone else’s name as a badge of honor (“I’m in so-and-so’s camp”), shouldn’t we be wearing Christ? Isn’t that what Paul’s main concern was? The people of Corinth were so focused on the divisive nature of the cliques that they completely neglected (or worse negated) the truth of Christ’s gospel that they were supposed to be preaching. They were not preaching the gospel like they should have been. Instead, it was all about who’s group they were in and it was causing divisions. I don’t see how this helps grow, edify, or equip the saints for the work of service. I do see how this can cause people to not come to Christ.
Before someone gets confused or misunderstands me, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t talk about different things. We can even debate some stuff. This is good and it sharpens us. I have debated for years and can be blunt and even harsh sometimes. But, when we debate, we must remember who we’re debating. If we are debating Christians, we must remember that they are our brethren – we aren’t supposed to doggedly attack them because they disagree with us on some things that aren’t foundational. If we are debating non-Christians, then it should be handled with grace so that they might be saved. If we are debating heretics, then we can be a little more forceful, but we must still be careful. If someone is following a heretic out of ignorance, then we must treat them like any other non-Christian and season our speech with grace so that they might be saved from the heresy. If, on the other hand, the person is someone who has heard the truth and has spent much energy denying that truth (especially to the point of teaching others that truth), then we shouldn’t hold back. We should let them know the truth and make it clear that they are heretics. Even this should be done with grace though, and that’s something that I’ve seen missing in much of the ongoing “debates” lately. Again though, I have to say, we have to make sure we understand just who we’re debating with!
In the end, it is the gospel that matters most. It is not wearing other people as a badge or absolutely condemning everyone that disagrees with you even on the smallest points. If we can’t even discuss things among ourselves without having everything meltdown or explode into a flurry of unfair and graceless comments, why do we think that those outside the church are going to be turned from their sins or lead to Christ? They won’t if we’re not presenting Him to them in every way.
I have been guilty of wearing others as a badge and I have gotten better about not doing it. Personally, I couldn’t care less about names. I tend not to like labels very much. It is way to easy to attack others on one point of what they believe instead of their beliefs as a whole. I just want to follow what scripture says, and allow it to change me to be more like Christ. I want that for others too. If I end up wearing someone else as a badge, please forgive me. If I get passionate about some things and forget who I’m talking to, forgive me for that as well. And I’ll try to do the same for my fellow Christians….
Genesis 8:13-22
March 7, 2011 at 8:12 pm | Posted in Bible Study | Leave a commentTags: abortion, account, alone, altar, America, Ararat, ark, aroma, assurance, ateasetees, Bible, bird, Born Again, Christian, church, clean, cold, compromise, Day, death, depravity, dinosaurs, dove, drink, eat, Eden, evangelism, evil, faith, Fall, favor, fire, flood, fountain, Genesis, global, God, gospel, grace, Harvest, heat, heaven, hell, holy, hope, Israel, Jesus, judgment, law, life, love, marriage, mercy, mock, money, multiply, murder, night, Noah, offering, onslaught, pastor, peace, perish, plead, prayer, promise, rain, raven, repent, righteousness, salvation, scripture, seed, sin, study, summer, ten commandments, TIME, today, tomorrow, truth, unclean, violence, window, winter, wood
Now it came about in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the water was dried up from the earth. Then Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and behold, the surface of the ground was dried up. In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. Then God spoke to Noah, saying, “Go out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. “Bring out with you every living thing of all flesh that is with you, birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, that they may breed abundantly on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” So Noah went out, and his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives with him. Every beast, every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, went out by their families from the ark. Then Noah built an altar to the LORD, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, “I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done. “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, And cold and heat, And summer and winter, And day and night Shall not cease.”
This week, we see the after effects of the Flood as well as a promise from the Lord. Before we look at that, let’s review a little bit. Since the Fall of man in the garden of Eden, man had been spiraling downward into violence. In recent times, it had gotten so bad that man’s only thoughts were evil continually. The earth was full of violence. Because of man’s depravity, God decided to give him 120 years to repent and return to Him. If man didn’t do this, God was going to judge the earth with a global Flood. In the midst of all of the evil lived Noah and his sons and their wives. Noah was a preacher of righteousness and found favor with God. Because of this, God revealed to Noah that a Flood was coming and that he should build a great ark for protection. God revealed the plans for the ark to Noah and they began to build it. At this time, no one had ever seen rain so the idea of a global Flood was preposterous. While building the ark, Noah also spent time preaching righteousness to those around him, warning them of the coming judgment in hopes that they might be saved.
About a week before the Flood, the animals that would spend time on the ark started arriving and boarding the now-finished ship. There were two of every unclean animal (including dinosaurs) and seven pairs of every clean animal. As the day of judgment approached, God told Noah and his family to board the ark and God shut the door behind them. Then, in a sudden onslaught, the fountains of the great deep burst and the windows of heaven opened up and water the likes of which had never been seen before rained down upon the entire planet. For forty days and nights it rained non-stop until the water rose over the highest mountains to a depth of about 20 feet. Every living land animal and many of the water dwelling ones perished in those forty days. All of the people who once mocked Noah for his proclamation now lay dead in the floodwaters. For a year, Noah and his family lived on the ark riding out the high waves and the storms as the Flood raged across the planet. Finally, things began to subside and the waters began to recede. Noah sent out a few birds to test the level of the waters. Finally, when the last dove didn’t return, Noah knew that land was visible. It is here that we pick up our study.
It has been a year and seventeen days since they boarded the ark. They had been through a lot, but God finally told them that it was time for them to disembark. Noah opened the ark of his salvation and he and his family, along with every animal on the ark, came out into a world that was very different from the one that they had seen when they entered the ark. The animals were given the command to multiply upon the earth. This was the purpose for which the animals were saved. It is interesting that they obeyed God in this. What is even more interesting to me, is Noah’s response.
After being saved from certain death by the grace of God and spending a year on a ship with at least two representatives of every animal known, Noah didn’t think about eating or drinking. Instead, he thought of God. Verse 20 says that Noah built an altar to the Lord and made an offering of every clean animal that they had brought with them. I find it interesting that those who search for the ark or believe that it may be found in the mountains of Ararat today seem to overlook this simple statement. They forget that Noah made an offering to the Lord. You may be wondering why this strikes me funny and what it has to do with those looking for the ark? Well, to make an offering to the Lord, you would have had to have fire. To have a fire, you must have wood – dry wood. The only likely source of dry wood at the time would have been the ark. The land may have been dry but it is doubtful that the wood was. I seriously doubt that the ark still exists today. I would imagine that Noah used the wood in his daily life.
Noah remembered the God who had remembered him. He offered to the Lord a small pittance of what was owed, but God accepted the offering. Not only that, God made a promise that still stands today. The Lord promised that He would never again curse the ground on the account of man, nor destroy every living thing like He had just done. While the earth remains, the Lord has promised that seedtime and harvest, winter and summer, cold and heat, day and night will never cease. God has kept His promise. He has never destroyed every living thing from the earth. Seedtime and harvest have continued. So have summer and winter, cold and heat, and day and night. Everything has been done according to God’s plans.
It is the same with man. The Bible says that it is God’s will that none should perish but that all should come to repentance. It says that if a man will repent of his sins and put his faith in Jesus Christ alone to save him, the man will be born again. He can know without a shadow of a doubt that he will go to heaven when he dies. Not only that, but God will give him a new heart with new desires. He will be changed from the inside out. This promise has come true for millions, including me. If you will repent of your sins, turn away from the lying, the stealing, the lusting, the hatred, the gossip, the adultery, and all the other sins in your life; and if you will put your faith in Christ to save you from the wrath of God; then this very minute, as you read these words, God can save you. He will save you! And you can have assurance that you will go to heaven when you die.
Please consider where you stand and what will happen when you stand before God to give an account of your life. If you are not sure your saved, or you know for a fact that you’re not, then please understand that I plead with you right now to make it right with God before you die. You don’t know if you have tomorrow. You only are guaranteed this minute. Please be honest with yourself and repent….while there is still time…..
Persecution Fridays: Cuba
March 4, 2011 at 10:17 am | Posted in VOM Fridays | Leave a commentTags: abortion, accusation, affair, agent, America, ateasetees, Baptist, Bible, Christian, church, communist, compromise, construction, council, Cuba, death, democracy, evangelism, faith, family, God, gospel, government, grace, hell, holy, Homero Carbonell, homosexuality, hope, human, Iran, Islam, Israel, Jesus, judgment, law, leader, life, literature, love, marriage, mercy, minority, money, murder, Muslim, office, oppression, party, pastor, peace, penalty, persecution, political, prayer, pressure, prisoner, Protestant, religious, repair, repent, rights, salvation, Santa Clara, scripture, security, shortage, shut down, sin, Solidarity, state, surveillance, ten commandments, threat, truth, Voice of the Martyrs, worldwide
For more news on what’s really happening to Christians around the world go to the Voice of the Martyrs website: www.persecution.com
Cuba: Persecution Increases
Pastors and Christian leaders in Cuba are reporting a shift in how the government treats Christians. The government appears to have moved away from higher profile forms of oppression, such as threatening to shut down or destroy churches, and is now focusing pressure on church leaders, according to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW).
Church leaders both within and outside of the Cuban Council of Churches (CCC) report receiving frequent visits from state security agents and Cuban Communist Party (CCP) officials. The CCC is an umbrella organization representing Protestant churches. These visits and meetings seem to have the intent of intimidating church leaders and making them aware they are under close surveillance.
In October 2010, Pastor Homero Carbonell decided to resign as leader of La Trinidad First Baptist Church in Santa Clara after prolonged government pressure and threats, according to CSW. He hoped giving up his leadership position would alleviate some of the demands on the congregation, but nothing has changed.
Pastor Carbonell, a respected high-level denominational leader, denounced the government persecution in an open letter, according to CSW. He wrote that spurious accusations against him, including allegations that he is associated with the counterrevolution, brought a series of penalties to his church. The pastor also described how the Religious Affairs Office has treated the church over the past three years. In one meeting with the Religious Affairs Office, officials told Pastor Carbonell to “behave himself.”
CSW reports that the government’s attention on Pastor Carbonell and his church may have been prompted by the church’s refusal to expel family members of political prisoners and members of human rights or pro-democracy groups.
Religious groups in Cuba are under the authority of the Religious Affairs Office of the CCP’s Central Committee, rather than a government body. Church leaders have complained for years about difficulties dealing with the Religious Affairs Office, especially with regard to permission for church repair or construction. Many of VOM’s partners in Cuba have faced conflict with authorities while building or repairing churches. Some get around requirements by constructing structures with roofs but no walls.
Bibles and Christian literature may be imported into the country only through the Cuban Council of Churches, which, according to CSW, represents a minority of churches. This limitation has led to a severe shortage of religious materials in Cuba. VOM friends help bring Bibles and other materials into the country through other channels and also sponsor a clandestine printing press for Christian literature.