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Posts Tagged ‘Christianity’

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Communists Fearful of Evangelicals

In Christianity, atheism on November 4, 2009 at 1:45 pm

Atheists invariably attempt to suppress Christians and Christian ideas. Communist societies insist on total control of media,education,the arts,and religious activities.  If their ideas were so persuasive you would think they would want to encourage debate. The paranoia runs deep doesn’t it?

http://wwrn.org/article.php?idd=31813

Russia & the CIS – Russia – Christianity – Evangelicals

 

“The Russian state wants to restrict the activities of Evangelicals”
(“AsiaNews”, November 3, 2009)
Moscow, Russia – The Russian Ministry for Justice has proposed amendments to the law on “Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations” that, if adopted, will introduce stronger restrictions on the activities of Evangelicals in the country. The community is on alert: If the proposal becomes law, among other things the evangelicals can no longer pray freely without a permit and people with a “criminal record” will not be allowed become members of their communities. The latter condition, which also concerns other religious groups because it would clear the path for state interference in the individual freedom of conscience.
The document that first appeared in mid-October at the Ministry for Justice – later reported by Gazeta.ru – contains, for the first time, a precise definition for “evangelical activities”; the text speaks of ‘activities of a religious association aimed at spreading its confessional beliefs among people who are not members with the intent to attract these people to the association itself. “
The evangelical communities are known for their aggressive proselytizing in war zones and even at the risk of their own life. In Russia, on the other hand, the Orthodox Church has always been very careful to protect its sphere of influence, and opposed to all forms of proselytizing.
According to the proposal of the Ministry of Justice, only the leaders of evangelical organizations will have the right to preach. All the others (for the evangelicals every believer is also a priest, ed) will need a permit from the authorities. Even foreigners will be required to have written authorization to spread their teaching. The document prohibits preachers, both Russian and foreign, from leading prayers in churches and monasteries of other communities, offering material or social benefits to potential new recruits and the use the use of force, psychological pressure or manipulation of consciences.
If the amendments are adopted, in the declaration to register as a religious community, information about leaders must be provided to authorities. A fundamental requirement is the exclusion of persons from the community who are convicted of inciting religious or ethnic hatred and other crimes of extremist nature. “The problem is that you may not know the criminal background of all the faithful – says Deacon Andrei Kuraev, professor at the Moscow Ecclesiastical Academy – nor on the other hand can you close the door on him.” “In this way – complains Kuraev – the state will decide who is entitled or not to belong to a religious organization”.
Penalties for any offenders are mostly financial: those who involve children in religious activities without parental consent, must pay a fine of between 2 and 5 thousand rubles. Evangelical worship without authorization will cost up to 7 thousand rubles. Those who, despite a criminal conviction for extremism, continue to preach will be fined from 7 to 10 thousand rubles. Those who allow evangelical activities to take place in the churches of other communities, hospitals or government buildings will be sanctioned with fines of up to 15 thousand rubl

 

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Rifqa Bary Ordered Back to Ohio

In Rifqa Bary-conversion/apostacy on October 24, 2009 at 8:34 pm

What about the immigration papers the parents were supposed to provide ? Sounds like the judge wanted to get rid of a headache. So,not only was there a botched “interview” with Rifqa in Florida,there was a botched investigation of the family and their ties to the Noor Center. But most of all there was an overall ignorance of Sharia Law and the concept of honor killings/honor abuse that often happens within Muslim families who are very religious. Ignorance is one thing,but turning a blind eye to evidence is another. Experts were willing to testify at the hearings but were never called .More info at Pamela Geller’s website -  Atlas Shrugs, link provided below.

Judge orders Fathima Rifqa Bary to return to Ohio

A DCF spokeswoman just confirmed her agency received an order from Circuit Judge Daniel Dawson.

“This order indicates that the Court has relinquished its emergency jurisdiction and orders the Department to arrange the transportation of the child to the proper authorities with Franklin County Children Services in Ohio,” spokeswoman Carrie Hoeppner said

“The Department will proceed with those arrangements. Please understand that the details of the transfer will not be released, to best ensure her safety.

Rifqa’s private attorney, John Stemberger, has not returned phone calls seeking comment.Rifqa said she feared her Muslim father would harm or kill her because she converted to Christianity. She sought shelter with husband-and-wife pastors in Orlando, and lived with their family for several weeks.

For more information go to Atlas Shrugs -http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2009/10/judge-orders-rifqa-bary-back-to-ohio-despite-islamic-threat.html

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What Would You Do If…

In Christian life, ruling elites and power on August 11, 2009 at 10:53 am
  • You are a police officer and you have been told to arrest the pastor and principal of a Christian school because they refuse to purchase a state license to operate their school?
  • You are a judge and a church or church school has violated the new law that requires them to hire a homosexual,atheist,or person who does not adhere to the statement of faith of the church or school?
  • You are a pastor and you and your fellow elders believe you must exercise church discipline on a married man who is an elder and having an affair. You know he will sue the church if you do so. The budget is tight,he is very popular…

Harold Laski of the London School of Economics argued that replacing political action by administrative fiat was virtually the only way England would bring the socialist vision into being. He called  for a "wholesale system of delegated legislation," and thought it "inevitable if the process of socialization is not to be wrecked by the normal methods of obstruction which existing parliamentary procedure sanctions." The political process,which is for most citizens all that legitimates the exercise of state power, is for the new class a restraint on their ability to impose their will on others…The Soviets,before they decided to become respectable,called bureaucrats commissars,and this was a more honest expression,because it recognized that the administration of laws in modern states carries with it political power. We expect bureaucrats to protect us from all of life’s contingencies,which they cannot do, and we leave ourselves defenseless against our protectors. Could we find a better description of a protection racket? (Idols For Destruction:Christian Faith and It’s Confrontation with American Society,Herbert Schlossberg,pg.204-205)

A representative from the United States government has scheduled a meeting with the association of the denomination of which you are a member. As a pastor/elder you go and listen to the following:

We need you to teach/emphasize the following Scriptures to your congregations -

Everyone is to obey the governing authorities. For there is no authority that is not from God,and the existing authorities have been placed where they are by God. Therefore,whoever resists the authorities is resisting what God has instituted;and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves…( Romans 13:1-2)    How would you teach these Scriptures?

It is past time for Christians to decide the following:

  • Is the Bible really the Word of God?
  • If it is then what does this Word say about our relationship to our government and our fellow citizens?
  • Does the Bible have anything to say about civil disobedience,pacifism,armed resistance,involvement in politics?
  • Does the Constitution mesh with your understanding of the Christians role in society? If not,then where do you draw the line in political involvement?
  • What is God’s will relative to how you treat those with whom you disagree?
  • Is there a point at which armed rebellion is Scriptural?
  • Have you lived out your understanding of the Kingdom of God within the "City of Man" ?
  • What should be the role of the church, if any,in the political arena?
  • What are our convictions, and what are our preferences when it comes to church and state?

While most Germans did not endorse radical anti-Jewish measures,militant Nazis felt empowered to persecute Jews at will. Despite orders for restraint,they smashed windows at night and scrawled graffiti near Jewish homes.Hitler Youth members taunted Jews in the street with "Yid"or "Jewish Pig"(Judensau). Roving gangs of Nazi hoodlums assaulted Jews and their property. Nazi leaders,like other successful revolutionaries,confronted a dilemma:the violence that fed their most loyal followers repelled the newcomers on whom political stability rested.As  the chief of a powerful state,with a sophisticated media network,Hitler deployed the politics of virtue to detach his persona from the party radicals and reach out directly to the Volk. To achieve the broad consensus on which his continued power would rest,Hitler in effect de-Nazified his public image by refining the myth of his personal virtue and summoning his Volk to celebrate ethnic revival. ( The Nazi Conscience,Claudia Koonz,pg.44-45)

Beware the politics of virtue! As the leader(s) do their smooth talking, are their thugs doing the dirty work against those who disagree with them? In Europe today Jews are persecuted by Muslims and Neo-Nazis. Where is the church? In America dissent is mocked as "un-American".

When the apostle insists that the gospel overturns the wisdom of the wise,whether Jew or Greek(I Corinthians1:18-25),we simply cannot avoid the conclusion that Paul was not thinking of something like "private religion":what he proclaimed was public truth."At heart then there is a fundamental contradiction,even opposition,between the Gospel and the world…Hence,the Gospel as public truth,the Gospel in the public sphere is not an easy word to speak,for it goes against the grain,and operates from a different wisdom,in the light of which human wisdom is shown  to be folly…we perceive that Christian faith in the New Testament,though doubtless highly personal,was never merely private.Inevitably, the larger culture was going to be confronted-and this included the state.(Christ and Culture Revisited,D.A.Carson,pg.170-171)

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