Well the time has come! I want to give out a few copies of Secret Believers. This book has changed dramatically my view on the responsibility of our prayers for Christian's worldwide being born-again in places where their Christian lives might be rather short.
Prepare yourself to be challenged in prayers, challenged in the way you see life and Christianity, and the question " Is Christ worth dying for ? , are you willing, ready, prepared?
I really want to hear your thoughts on the persecuted church, and the believers in different cultures and backgrounds. It is worth researching a bit into the Muslin/ (persecuted) world/culture, and how the Christians in those countries live.
I guess our immediate call and challenge in Ireland is the spread of the gospel among Catholics and an increasing number of Atheists; but I believe only when we realise what greater challenges our brethren in the Muslin world face when trying to witness to their fellow-man, we will starting taking every and all opportunities we have...
Anyways, remember the Persecuted Believers worldwide, give us some thoughts on the matter- you have until next Monday to do so - and you might get a copy of this book ( haven't figure out the selection process yet, I think it will be a random selection, but I am not sure yet of the number of books :).
N.B International adresses also welcome...
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The video below has subtitles in Portuguese in the first part but the majority of the video is in English ( I haven't found an equivalent). Here you will meet Brutos, one of the characters in Secret Believers...for more information go to the website secretbelievers.org.
Blessings in Christ
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Para os brazucas infelizmente o Livro Cristao Secreto ainda nao foi traduzido, mas informacoes podem ser encontradas no Site PortasAbertas.
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I have read the book "Secret Believers", and would recommend to anyone who is a follower of Christ. the book helps us remember the afflictions of the Body of Christ around the world, so that we can share in their sufferings with them, through prayers and love.
Something I found very interesting in the book, is that when Muslim Background Believers were being tortured, they confessed that, at times, their burden seemed to be eased. They realised it must have been the Christians who were praying for them around the world, who were sharing their burden with them.
My chosen country is (not surprisingly): EGYPT
A large minority of Egyptians are not Muslims, but Christians- 13%, the vast majority of them being Coptic Orthodox. Some Copts are nominal Christians, but many others place great importance on personal faith and Bible study. Christians experience discrimination, harassment and attacks.
Egypt does not have a blasphemy law. However, it has a "contempt of religion" charge, intended to discourage people from offending others' religious sensitivities, but it is actually used to stifle free speech and silence anyone who does not follow Sunni Islam.
With the rise of Islamism in Egypt, the number of attacks on churches has grown. The most recent serious attack was on St Mina church, where 15 people were killed and 240 injured. Two church buildings were burned and Christian homes were attacked.
Since January 2010, at least 68 Christians have been killed and hundreds injured in serious attacks.
Christian girls are sometimes kidnapped, forced to become Muslims, married to Muslim men, and not allowed to go back to their families. One priest in Cairo says that at least 21 girls, many as young as 14, have disappeared from his parish.
Nobody is certain of what happens next in Egypt. Elections for a new parliament are due in September, and an election for a President to be held soon after. Various groups are planning to contest the elections. Some want Egypt to become a country where everyone lives together with equal rights. Others want Egypt to become a more Islamic country.
Please pray for Egyptian Christians, and ask God to protect them, to heal the wounded and traumatised, and for strength, unity and wisdom to Egyptian people.
The persecuted church in India;
Hindu is the main religion in India, followed by Muslim and Christian. The Hindu doctrine of reincarnation teaches that people are born into a certain social group (caste system) according to their sins from their past life. The Dalits are the lowest group where they face great poverty. Due to the outcry for the Dalits suffering, the Indian government claim to provide some with certain jobs, government loans, medical care etc.
However, due to a rise in strong Hindu groups and a great number of conversions among the Dalits from Hinduism there is an increased hatred toward the Christians. For this reason some state governments have passed anti-conversion laws denying state benefits to low-caste people who become Christians, although half, or maybe even up to two-thirds of the 30 million Christians in India are Dalits. One of the reasons Hindus are afraid of these conversions is due to the Biblical teaching of all human beings created in God’s image and therefore all are equal in value.
Persecution continues mostly for the ethnic people who convert to Christianity and evangelize in stronger Hindu regions. Since 1990 more Christians have been martyred, raped, beaten and threatened in India than in the entire history of Christianity in that country. In 2008 there was mob violence against Christians in Orissa due to the assassination of World Hindu Council leader Swami Laxmanananda Saraswati. Although Christians had nothing to do with this assassination, Hindu militants used it as an excuse to attack Christians. The attack spread to 12 different Indian states causing the death of 100 Christians and 50 000 to flee their homes after attempting to force them to deny Christ and convert to Hinduism.
The largest body of missionaries is the catholic church, well known for their charitable work, aiding India’s poorest greatly. However prayer is needed that the people may have true spirituality and the transformation only Christ brings. Also prayer for the higher caste Christians response to the caste system, that it may be Christ like and biblical coming with no prejudices’ and for strength, perseverance and a love for their enemies.
(hope this is what you meant!)
The brethren from Uzbequistan:
Prior to the advent of Islam, present-day Uzbekistan had sizable communities of eastern Christians, including Nestorians and Jacobites. Initially tolerated by the Muslim rulers, they came under increasing persecution and pressure to convert. Around 1400, Tamerlane engaged in a fierce campaign to externimate Chrisitanity within his empire. The last Christian churches in Samarkand and Central Asia were destroyed by his grandson, Ulugh Beg.
Christianity returned to the region after the Russian conquest in 1867, when Russian Orthodox churches were built in large cities, to serve Russian and European settlers and officers.
According to a 2009 US State Department release, about 5 % of the population of Uzbekistan are orthodox, most of whom are ethnic Russians. There are about 4000 Roman Catholics in Uzbekistan. New parishes cannot register. In 2006 a law, by which printing religious books can be punished with three years of imprisonment, was passed. The government indulges in massive persecution of Christians. There is strong pressure on Christians from a Muslim background in remote areas.
(Excerpt from wikipedia)
Let us all pray for them
For obvious reasons Nadia got the book :)...thanks for taking time to write about other Christians in persecuted countries,
may we keep them in our minds and heart and bring them before GOD always...
Blessed Reading!
I apologies for not responding sooner. I had an answer all beautifully typed and then Dad turned of the internet to fix something and I lost it all. Naturally I have been run of my feet for the last few day. Anyway here is my answer. I'd like a book but obviously I am late answering and my answer might not be of much good...
Yes Christ is worth dying for. In fact every Christian has died unto Christ. They have died to the sinful man and have been born again in Christ. Not all of us are called to the mission field but wait a mintute are we?? Actually yes we are a missionary tells people who nothing of God's mercy about God's mercy....is that not what we are commanded to do as Christians? I think every Christian is a missionary in a sense, it all just depends on where God wants you to be!
As for a country which I pray for it is currently Libya. Libya as everyone probably knows has been ruled for many years by an evil man. The country is currently in a state of turmoil making things very difficult for civilians and for Christian too. No one really knows how many evil acts Colonel Gaddafi were committed.
"The country does not have a constitution, and there is no explicit legal provision for religious freedom. However, a basis for some degree of religious freedom is provided in the Great Green Charter on Human Rights of the Jamahiriya Era, and the Government generally respected the right to freely observe one's religion in practice. The Government tolerates most minority religions but strongly opposes militant forms of Islam, which it views as a threat, and prohibits the proselytizing of Muslims. Religious practices that conflict with the Government's interpretation of Shari'a are prohibited."
It may not be a "muslim country" but it is one which is under constant attack from within. As I hear the news concerning the government in this country I feel a burden to pray for those who are living there both Christian and non-Christian alike. That people might turn to God and that peace might come to this war stricken land.
A thought in closing we may not be able to reach these lands physically or verbally with the word of God but we can reach them on our knees.
Noooooooooooooo i wanted the book... :)
Hey, wait a second, I should have won the book, I wrote first!!
I think I won a book because well one just floated through my letter box yesterday. SORRY TAMI. SORRY PAULO!!!!!!!! Lets hope this is a good read.........
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God bless!!