The following analysis about the horrific violence across Egypt was written by a Christian leader in Egypt. He is unnamed due to security concerns:
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An attorney from Kenya is seeking an international court to consider a re-trial for Jesus. Attorney Dola Indidis is trying to sue Emperor Tiberius, Pontius Pilate, Jewish elders and King Herod, holding they remain responsible for an illegal trial and the result, the crucifixion Mat Staver of Liberty Counsel says it's strange if Indidis is seeking to have Jesus pardoned, noting that Jesus pardoned us. Roma Downey, The Bible miniseries executive producer and star of CBS's Touched by an Angel, endorsed award-winning writer/producer Phil Lollar and his crowdfunding campaign for the new independent audio drama Iliad House on Kickstarter.com. "Phil ... tells exciting adventure stories, filled with wonder and awe, that are fun and funny, and that present biblical values in a way that our older kids can enjoy. Please help Phil continue to bring great stories to young people and families everywhere, and support Iliad House today," Downey said. At least 50 civilians were killed and dozens more injured in a series of weekend attacks in north-eastern Nigeria by the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram. Twelve people are reported to have been killed when Boko Haram members dressed in military and police uniforms attacked Ngom, a village situated between Mafa and Konduga Local Government Areas in Borno State, on Saturday 10 August. Several sources report the victims' hands were tied behind their backs prior to their throats being slit. According to an unconfirmed report, 19 people from surrounding villages were also murdered in a similar manner during Sunday 11 August. Also on 11 August, Boko Haram gunmen attacked Konduga Central Mosque and adjoining mosques in Konduga Town during early morning prayers, killing 46 worshipers and injuring at least 30 people, 26 of whom required hospital treatment. At the same time, other members of the group petrol bombed and destroyed around 50 homes. This was Boko Haram's first large scale attack inside a mosque; the group had previously targeted individuals on their way to or from prayer. A new 36-minute movie by Ray Comfort that exposes Darwinian evolution as being bogus science has exploded onto the Internet with more than 180,000 views in just six days. The “explosion” isn’t just in the number of views, but also in the YouTube comments section. There are more than 14,000 comments, many from atheists who are furious that Evolution vs. God undeniably exposes evolution. Comfort took a camera to evolutionary scientists at USC and UCLA and pressed them for “observable and testable evidence” (the scientific method) for Darwinian evolution. None of these “experts” could give any. With the stroke of a pen on Monday, California became the first state to enshrine rights for transgender students in state law – setting the stage, say pro-family leaders, for young girls to be molested in school locker rooms by boys who believe they are girls. Without comment, California Governor Jerry Brown yesterday signed into law a bill (AB 1266) strengthening the rights of transgender students (K-12) in the state’s public schools. It makes the Golden State the first state in the nation to allow participation in “sex-segregated programs, activities, and facilities” in public schools based on a student's gender identity. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) is deeply concerned by continuing attacks against Egyptian Christians, which have increased in frequency since the removal of the Morsi regime and have prompted Pope Tawadros II to cancel his weekly public sermons. Violence and hate speech targeting religious minorities was already on the increase under the former president's rule. Since his removal from power, attacks on the Coptic community in particular have increased sharply, primarily but not exclusively in Upper Egypt, following allegations from several Islamist sources that Christians played a pivotal role in the removal of Morsi’s regime. A university in Indiana has sharply denounced one of its professors for presenting the theory of intelligent design to students in his science course. Ball State University president Jo Ann Gora stated that to allow physics professor Eric Hedin to present intelligent design as a valid scientific theory would “violate the academic integrity” of the course Hedin was teaching. In a statement to Ball State faculty and staff, Gora said: “Intelligent design is overwhelmingly deemed by the scientific community as a religious belief and not a scientific theory .... To allow intelligent design to be presented to science students as a valid scientific theory would violate the academic integrity of the course as it would fail to accurately represent the consensus of science scholars.” The United Nations is being asked to take action against family-planning policies in China that harm women and children. A formal complaint has been lodged with the UN body that deals with women's rights by Reggie Littlejohn of Women's Rights Without Frontiers. The complaint lists many violent incidents related to enforcement of the one-child policy, as well as abortions performed on the basis of gender. For the last several weeks, I have been asked for my response to an article posted on the Grace to You website by Conrad Mbewe, pastor of the Kabwata Baptist Church in Zambia and one of the speakers at Pastor John MacArthur’s upcoming Strange Fire conference. According to the article, which is entitled “Why Is the Charismatic Movement Thriving in Africa?” this movement is not a powerful visitation of the Holy Spirit. Rather, “We need to sound the warning that this is not Christianity.”
Not Christianity? Really? Now, had Pastor Mbewe said, “I praise God for the wonderful things that He is doing throughout Africa by His Spirit, but there are serious errors that need to be addressed,” I would have said, "Amen," to many of his concerns. In fact, charismatic leaders in Africa are addressing these problems as well. Unfortunately, Pastor Mbewe, just like many other anti-charismatic leaders, fails to see the extraordinary forest because of some very bad trees. |
Walter Blackwood
Associate Pastor with The Bridge Community of Faith in Kelowna BC Canada. Archives
May 2017
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