Christian Living

We Persevere (Round-Up 2)

KarAngEllis

We Persevere

Weekly Roundup June 10, 2016

Saudi Arabia: Muslims in Saudi Arabia are turning to Christianity, despite the country’s religious suppression and strict Sharia law-based legal system that associates Islamic identity with citizenship. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) describes Saudi Arabia as a “uniquely repressive” country, which prohibits any form of religious expression except for Islam. Those who commit blasphemy, apostasy, sorcery, and dissent could be prosecuted, jailed, flogged, or even executed. Even atheism is banned in the country, as it is seen as tantamount to terrorism and an act of questioning the fundamentals of Islam. Read more…

United Kingdom: Can you reel off the Ten Commandments? Officials are asking applicants about Bible minutiae, not realizing that many asylum seekers are escaping from nations where owning a Bible is illegal, or where a single house church will only see a Bible intermittently because they share a single copy with other believers. The problem with these questions is that if you are not genuine you can learn the answers, and if you are genuine, you may not know the answers. Read more…

Vietnam: The UN condemns the Vietnamese government over its torture of Christian activist Mrs. Tran Thi Hong. Tran, spouse of imprisoned Pastor Nguyen Cong Chinh, was initially arrested on April 14. She allegedly was tortured and warned to stop her activities promoting freedom of religion. Read more…

Nigeria: Nigeria’s Fulani herdsmen are attacking Christians with “almost complete impunity.” Militant Fulanis are increasing their reach within the west Africa country and have killed nearly 150 people in the month of February 2016 alone, according to International Christian Concern (ICC). Read more…

US: The Language of Love, from Carl Trueman: “The politicization of the language of love is perhaps the most significant—and, where freedom is concerned, the most dangerous—development in the rhetoric of the public square for many years.” Read more…

For Your Bookshelf this month:

They Say We Are Infidels, by Mindy Belz

“For the past decade, journalist Mindy Belz has returned again and again to the Middle East, following Iraqi Christians fleeing from rape, murder, kidnapping, and suicide bombing. Belz brings the stark reality of this escalating genocide to light, sharing the stories of real-life Christians who refuse to abandon their faith—together with the hope that still lives, even in the face of terror.” Learn more…

 

We Persevere is curated by K.A. Ellis, pioneer of the Persevering Church campaign. She is Ambassador for International Christian Response, a Swiss organization providing support for church planters in hostile regions where Western missionaries cannot go.

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