Chinese Navy Confronted USS Kitty Hawk
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/Chinese_Navy_Confronts/2008/01/16/64821.html
A Chinese attack submarine and destroyer confronted the U.S. carrier Kitty Hawk and its battle group in the Taiwan Strait, sparking a tense 28-hour standoff that brought both sides to a battle-ready position.
The American ships were heading to Japan following China’s sudden cancellation of a scheduled Thanksgiving port call in Hong Kong when they encountered the Chinese vessels, according to the Navy Times, which cited a report in a Chinese-language newspaper in Taiwan.
The Times reported that the encounter caused the carrier group “to halt and ready for battle, as the Chinese vessels also stopped amid the 28-hour confrontation.”
The encounter ended without incident, however, and the U.S. ships continued on to Japan. The two Chinese vessels were also headed for a port call in Japan.
The Chinese destroyer, Shenzhen, is armed with anti-ship missiles, while the Song-class attack sub is equipped with anti-ship missiles and a variety of torpedoes.
China has expressed “grave concern” to the U.S. over the Kitty Hawk’s transit through the Taiwan Strait, the Times notes. Beijing claims Taiwan is Chinese territory.
But Admiral Timothy Keating, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, told reporters Tuesday: “We don’t need China’s permission to go through the Taiwan Strait. We will exercise our free right of passage whenever and wherever we choose.”
Shortly before the Kitty Hawk battle group was denied entry to Hong Kong, China had refused safe harbor for two U.S. Navy minesweepers seeking refuge from a storm.
As Newsmax has reported, some U.S. politicians have rung alarm bells about China's increased military spending and technological revamping of its armed forces.
China’s military budget had an average annual growth rate of nearly 16 percent from 1994 to 2004, and China's reported 2006 military budget is about $35 billion, according to Beijing.
But Pentagon sources have said these numbers fail to demonstrate the true scope of the growth, and the real 2006 figure could be as much as $105 billion.
In recent years China has upgraded its nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles; bought state-of-the-art warships, fighter planes and submarines from Russia; and begun development of a number of so-called "asymmetrical" weapons, including informational warfare and anti-satellite systems.
In November, Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda warned that China’s continuing military buildup could eventually pose a “major threat” if the Chinese government decides to exercise its power.
Bob Boyd Ministry Brings Hope to Kenya in the Midst of Chaos
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06765.shtml
NORFOLK, Va -- In the midst of wide-spread chaos, death and destruction in Kenya, the Norfolk- based Bob Boyd Evangelistic Association (BBEA) is aggressively pursuing a program of aid and outreach that addresses the challenges of tribal conflict and AIDS that are at the heart of today's African crises.
In riot-torn cities such as Eldoret, Kisumu, Webuye, and Kitale, tens of thousands of students are finding a way to overcome tribal barriers and the deadly plague of AIDS. Under the leadership of BBEA, "Schools of Discipleship" have been created where students meet in classrooms after school hours.
At these "schools," young men and women learn respect, compassion and understanding for those from different tribal backgrounds. They also learn to reject ancient tribal customs that include circumcision rituals and indiscriminate sex. A tangible result has been a notable decrease in the spread of HIV/AIDS among school- age children in Western Kenya.
Dr. Boyd and his team trained and equipped a Kenyan leader, John Matei, to head the African program. Since 2003, participation has grown from 10 students to over 21,500. "The people of Kenya are in our prayers every day," said Bob Boyd. "We know that in the midst of chaos there is always hope through God."
Dr. Bob Boyd is the founder of the Bob Boyd Evangelistic Association. He graduated from the College of William and Mary and Dallas Theological Seminary and earned his doctorate in biblical communications at Asbury Seminary. He led a growing church near the site of Walton's Mountain before joining Campus Crusade for Christ as an international speaker. Boyd, his wife Mallory and a small team began the BBEA in 1997and now lead large evangelistic events around the world. Boyd has spoken to millions of people at these campaigns and on radio and TV. The Boyds have four sons and live in Norfolk, Virginia near their international headquarters.
Tian Min-ge, Su Dean, Prominent Leaders of Fangcheng House Church of Henan Arrested
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06766.shtml
GANSU PROVINCE -- China Aid has learned from well-known Chinese House church historian Mr. Zhang Yinan that on December 20, 2007, the prominent leaders of the Fangcheng parent house church, Tian Ming-ge and Su Dean, were detained by local police in Jiuquan City. Su and Tian Min-ge, also known as Tian Jin, were in the midst of conducting a church service with fellow co-worker, Wang Hongliang, when local authorities disrupted the gathering and detained the pastors.
The three church leaders were arraigned under the charges of "gathering in an illegal assembly under the guise of religion." Mr. Wang was released after serving 15 days detention, while Tian and Su's penalties have been elevated to criminal detention on January 5, 2008. With a shaved head and donning prison garb, the 71 year old missionary, Tian Jian, was escorted by authorities from Jiuquan Detention Center to the Fangcheng County Public Security Bureau of Henan.
Tian Jin, affectionately known as "Uncle Jin", has been intricately involved in the development and growth of the Chinese House Church since becoming a Christian in 1977. Retired and unmarried, Tian has devoted the past 20 years of his life to full-time missionary work in China. He founded the management team of Daqing Church, Heilongjiang province and in July of 1994, was elected as one of the seven leaders of the Fangcheng parent church in his home county. In 1997, Tian was involved in the missionary work to unite all of the house churches in China.
Together with Zhang Rongliang and leaders from several different denominations, he worked with the counsel to educate and unite the different denominations in orthodox Christian doctrine. The group also officially declared that the Chinese house church was not a cult. Since then, Tian has made indefatigable efforts in eliminating the rumors, misunderstandings and splits among the various denominations. Zhang Rangliang is currently serving a 7-1/2 year sentence for his involvement with the house church.
In the spring of 1994, Tian was arrested by PSB officials for receiving Pastor Dennis Balcombe from Hong Kong. After generating much concern from the international community, the case forced prominent Chinese lawyers, Ye Xiaowen and Han Wenzao, two leaders from State Administration of Religious Affairs (SARA) and TSPM to defend the religious policies of the Chinese Communist Party. In the end, Tian was released from prison on medical parole. Tian was again arrested in 2007 by Fengcheng officials, while teaching Christianity outside of his home town. He was released after serving a one month sentence.
Su Dean, a friend and co-worker of Tian's, was commissioned by the Fengcheng parent church to teach in Sichuan Province. An eloquent lecturer, Su has spoken in over 30 counties and cities in Sichuan. At one time Su oversaw a ministry of more than 200,000 Christians He also led efforts in the training and equipping of full-time missionaries. For their unwavering devotion to the progress and growth of the Chinese house church, Both Su and Tian carry great influence amongst the united underground believers in China.
The arrest of these highly respected and founding members of the house church comes but two days after the Chinese Communist's politburo held a national session on the implementation of its "religious freedoms" policy. During the conference, President Hu Jintao, reiterated his party's past position on religious affairs and expressed new ideas on implementing religious freedom in China. This latest proposal strategy will be measured by the way Tian and Su are treated in the coming weeks. In light of over 50 years of persecution amongst its leaders and members, the house church remains weary of the CPC's promising rhetoric.
With the privilege of hosting the upcoming Olympic Games, the religious policies of the Chinese Communist Party should become more progressive. The international community should use the Tian/Su Incident to urge the Chinese Communists party to keep their constitutional promise on religious freedom. It has been 10 years since the CPC signed the UN's International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It is time that they kept their promise on religious matters.
Ethical Principles Protect Patients--Not Personal Opinions
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06767.shtml
WASHINGTON, DC -- The Christian Medical Association (www.cmda.org) voiced strong opposition to an assisted suicide bill introduced today in the Washington legislature, saying the measure puts patients at risk by supplanting longstanding, recognized ethical principles with personal opinion.
"This bill to legalize assisted suicide attempts to force the opinions of a small band of suicide advocates on society and the medical community, and to force the government into the position of sanctioning suicide," observed CMA CEO Dr. David Stevens.
"Laws teach. Think about the message this measure would send to vulnerable and depressed individuals contemplating suicide. How are we going to publicly sanction suicide and then turn around and try to stem the tide of teen suicides?
"The minority lobbying for assisted suicide may personally believe that the value of a life is measured by physical health. Yet millennia of longstanding ethical principles recognize that the value of human life extends far beyond our bodies and beyond our ability to perceive value. Longstanding recognized ethics from Hippocrates to the bible have provided vital safeguards for patients while motivating physicians to practice true compassion by providing comfort and commitment to the patient.
"It's easy for suicide lobbyists to attract a measure of public sympathy for their views by waving the flag of individual autonomy. But when the debate moves beyond sound bites to actual evidence, the public recognizes that patients' autonomy and interests are protected only when doctors remain healers and never killers.
"The Netherlands decided to remove longstanding ethical safeguards for patients, and legislators legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia. Published medical studies reveal that Dutch doctors administer lethal injections to roughly a thousand patients a year who never consent to their deaths. That's autonomy for doctors--not for patients.
"Once assisted suicide infiltrates medicine, patient protections fall and the power of doctors rises. Euthanasia is next--beginning with patients who can't swallow lethal drugs.
"Assisted suicide also removes patient protections by opening a door for self-interested parties to pressure vulnerable patients to die. Imagine the incentives for cost-conscious HMO's, government insurers, greedy heirs and tired caregivers. A patient's apparently voluntary decision may actually be coerced--yet nearly impossible to detect or prosecute.
"The answer to patients suffering at the end of life is not to kill them, but to provide aggressive and appropriate relief from pain, compassionate counsel and unconditional love."
Senior House Church Leader Issues Second Open Letter to Chinese President Regarding Intensified Persecution
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06768.shtml
HEBEI PROVINCE, China -- China Aid has learned that several orphan children and their caretakers were forced to spend the night in a hotel room after having been evicted from their orphanage by local police officials on Christmas day.
The orphanage's caretakers, Ming Xuan Zhang along with his two sons, had prepared to celebrate Christmas with the children, but were in no way prepared to deal with the situation that unfolded that morning. After presenting an eviction notice, officials then proceeded to beat the care-takers and the children until they were literally forced onto the street. The Director of Security order of the Village of Sanhe, along with other government officials from the Religious Bureau and United Work Front Department, had threatened the landlord to stop renting land to Zhang and the children or face imprisonment.
Left with little choice, the landlord was forced to evict Zhang after 5 years of faithful occupancy. The children slept in a hotel room as Zhang frantically searched for space to rent for the orphanage. Unfortunately, Government officials had not limited the Christmas Day eviction to a single affair. On 3 separate occasions, landlords were threatened not to rent space to Zhang and the orphans, or face criminal charges and prison time.
Government officials continue to persecute Ming Xuan Zhang for his leadership role in the Chinese House Church. Affectionately known as "Bike", Ming Xuan Zhang has experienced severe persecution and has been imprisoned 12 times by Government officials, who are trying to isolate him from the Chinese house church alliance. In 2006, US President George W. Bush requested a meeting with Ming Zhang during his visit to China, but was denied by Communist Party officials. Zhang and his son were kidnapped at a train station after CPC officials discovered he had been invited to meet the President.
Zhang has written a second open letter to President Hu Jintao, in hopes of receiving relief from persecution. No response has been issued. Government officials continue to hinder Zhang from renting space for his orphanage by threatening landlords who offer to lease to him. Zhang and the children continue to remain homeless as they search for permanent living space.
We implore the international community and those involved to take action against the crimes committed against Ming Zhang and his orphanage. The eviction and closure of an orphanage on Christmas day, due to the religious persecution of its caretaker is behavior that can not be tolerated of any Government or nation.
If you would like to personally contact Ming Xuan Zhang, he can be reached at:
86-139-3067-8090
Please contact the Chinese Embassy in Washington DC for more information
Address: 2201 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C. 20007
Tel: (202) 338-6688, (202)5889760 Fax: (202) 588- 9760
Chinese Church Leaders Face Criminal Detention
http://news.christiansunite.com/Religion_News/religion06769.shtml
Two highly-respected house church leaders face criminal detention following a raid on a church service in Jiuquan City, Gansu Province on December 20, according to a January 8 report from China Aid Association. Su Dean and Tian Min-ge were arrested while conducting a service along with a co-worker, Wang Hongliang.
The three leaders were arraigned on charges of "gathering in an illegal assembly under the guise of religion." Wang was released after fifteen days, but Tian and Su's penalties were elevated to criminal detention on January 5. Seventy-one-year-old Tian Min-ge (also known as Tian Jian), is being held at the Fangcheng County Public Security Bureau in Henan.
Pray for strength for Tian and Su, as they serve their Lord in prison. Pray that they will be released soon. Pray for Christians in China as they continue to minister for the Lord despite the on-going oppression that they face. Pray that the recent commitments to increased religious liberty by the Chinese Communist Politburo will be more than empty promises.
For more information on the persecution of Christians in China, go to www.persecution.net/country/china.htm.
Former ruling party, Hindu fundamentalists blamed for anti-Christian violence in India
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/former.ruling.party.hindu.fundamentalists.blamed.for.antichristian.violence.in.india/16270.htm
A number of opposition parties in India have unanimously named the former ruling party and a Hindu fundamentalist organisation as the root perpetrators of last month’s violence against Christians in Orissa state.
Last month, mobs led by Hindu activists attacked Christians in the Kandhamal district on Christmas Eve reportedly over a decorative arch intended for Christmas celebrations.
Over the course of several days at least four people died while 95 churches and 730 houses were burnt down or destroyed, according to the All India Christian Council (AICC).
Many people are believed to be still hiding in jungles and hills in fear of their lives.
According to the conservative English daily Hindu newspaper, leaders of different opposition parties have each determined that the actions of the Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian Popular Party) and the Sangh Parivar led to the large-scale communal violence and attacks on churches throughout the Kandhamal district.
Though political leaders were barred from visiting the riot-hit areas, the Orissa state government reportedly lifted restrictions, allowing leaders of various parties in the state – including the Communist Party of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Indian National Congress, the Orissa Gana Parishad (Orissa Popular Association), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (National People’s Party) of Orissa – to visit Phulbani, the district headquarters town of Kandhamal district, this past Saturday.
On Sunday, they visited violence-hit areas like Khajuripada, Daringbadi, Baliguda and Barkhama before reaching Brahmanigaon in the afternoon.
In Brahmanigaon, the leaders visited the ransacked church and houses of families of both communities that were devastated by communal violence and also inspected the relief operation.
A fact-finding team of the Indian National Congress, India’s ruling Congress party, will submit its report to party leader Sonia Gandhi, a Roman Catholic and one of the country's most powerful politicians.
"Planned move"
State CPI(M) General Secretary Janardan Pati said the recent communal violence in Kandhamal district was a planned move by the Sangh Parivar.
He urged the leader of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Council), Laxmananda Saraswati, who was alleged to be the root cause of communal tension in the district, to try to bring in peace and unity in the district rather than dividing people on communal issues.
Meanwhile, the CPI(M) state political bureau member, Ali Kishore Patnaik, said the state government was protecting the Sangh Parivar as BJP was part of the ruling alliance.
State Congress chief Jayadev Jena also accused the Sangh Parivar activists led by Laxmanananda Saraswati of being the instigators of communal violence in the district and alleged that the state government did not take security measures before Christmas celebrations to thwart the plans of the Sangh Parivar.
CPI legislative assembly member N. Narayan Reddy further criticised the administration and police for failing to instill a sense of security within the minority community as many places were attacked in the presence of the police.
In addition, former chief minister and Congress leader Hemananda Biswal alleged that the government machinery was busy suppressing facts related to communal violence in Kandhmal district. Deputy leader of the opposition in the State Assembly, Narasingha Mishra, has demanded for the resignation of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on moral grounds for the communal violence in Kandhamal.
Meanwhile, the fact-finding team of the All India Christian Council (AICC) has accused fundamentalist organisation VHP and its youth wing, Bajrang Dal, of having contributed much to the violence.
The AICC team claimed that the attacks were well planned and also pre-planned, and looting and robbery were rampant while local police remained silent spectators. The sheer devastation and the barbaric act were never reported adequately, it claimed.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is an Indian nationalist party who led the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government with like-minded parties. It is often described as a political outfit of the Hindu nationalist organization Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). BJP has always received support from Hindu organisations like VHP, Bajrang Dal and others.
Christian tribe sues Malaysian Government for destroying church
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christian.tribe.sues.malaysian.government.for.destroying.church/16266.htm
Christian indigenous villagers are suing Malaysia's sole Islamic state government for destroying their church, claiming it was an illegal act since they owned land the church was built on.
Members of the Temiar tribe, one of some 18 ethnic tribes known as the Orang Asli ("Original People"), had built the church in their remote jungle village, said N Subramaniyan, the villagers’ lawyer. Shortly after completion, authorities demolished the church last June.
The Kelantan state government said it was illegally built on state land and that the villagers ignored notices to stop construction. Azlan Abdul Halim, the counsel representing the Kelantan government, said the demolition did not have to do with religion.
"By law, any building has to get approval," he told The Associated Press. "It doesn't matter if the building is a church or a house ... this has nothing to do with religion."
Pastor Moses Soo, whose Christian group had helped the villagers to build the church, told AP that the destruction of the church by the state government was a sign of discrimination against Christians.
Orang Asil tribes make up less than 1 per cent of the 27 million people in the Muslim state.
The Temiar tribe has challenged the state government, saying the land belonged to them. They are hoping the court will declare the land to be legally theirs and give them the right to build a church there without the danger of it being torn down by authorities.
A community hall, built by local authorities, has since replaced the church.
Villagers, however, "don't want a community hall. They want a church," Soo told AP.
The court case was originally scheduled to be heard Tuesday but the Malaysian High Court postponed trial until May.
Malaysia has recently gone through a period of high-profile court cases to protect the secular identity of the multi-racial state by the minority population. Last month, a Christian widower launched a legal case alleging the Malaysian Islamic Council was trying to perform Muslim rites on his dead wife.
Vatican slams Harry Potter as 'wrong kind of hero'
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/vatican.slams.harry.potter.as.wrong.kind.of.hero/16236.htm
The Vatican offered its latest view on the good vs evil debate over the immensely popular Harry Potter series in a recent edition of its newspaper, headlining an article by an expert in English literature who calls the teen wizard "the wrong kind of hero".
In the article, "The Double Face of Harry Potter", published by the Vatican's official newspaper L'Osservatore Romano this week, Edoardo Rialti writes about the harmful effects of the "half-truth" messages presented by JK Rowling in the Potter saga.
Rialti’s attack echoes the sentiment of Pope Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who voiced fears in 2003 that the "subtle seductions" contained in the Potter series could "corrupt the Christian faith" in impressionable young children.
Young Christian minds will "lose the spirit of discernment between good and evil and that they will not have the necessary strength and knowledge to withstand the temptations to evil," Ratzinger wrote in a March 2003 letter to German Catholic sociologist Gabriele Kuby, author of the book Harry Potter - Good or Evil.
Rialti writes that many have tried to establish a parallel between the "fantasy masterpieces" JR Tolkein's “Lord of the Rings” and CS Lewis “Narnia” books with the Potter series. He argues that other than "superficially apparent common points", there is nothing similar between them.
Harry Potter "transmits a vision of the world and the human being full of deep mistakes and dangerous suggestions, even more seductive since it is mixed with half-truths and compelling story-telling", describes Rialti.
The author recalls Tolkien's essays in which the fantasy writer said, "...fables can depart from the physical world and the universe created, but not from the moral order." The fables can present "a universe illuminated by a green sun" but should not positively portray "a reality in which the moral and spiritual structure are inverted or confused, a world in which evil is good", wrote Tolkien.
But that is exactly what happens in Harry Potter, Rialti points out.
"Despite several positive values that can be found in the story, at the foundations of this tale is the proposal that of witchcraft as positive, the violent manipulation of things and people thanks to the knowledge of the occult, an advantage of a select few: the ends justify the means because the knowledgeable, the chosen ones, the intellectuals know how to control the dark powers and turn them into good.
"This is a grave and deep lie, because it is the old Gnostic temptation of confusing salvation and truth with a secret knowledge," he adds.
The fables by Tolkien and Lewis, the article continues, describe the "rejection of magic and power" and offer "grave and destructive consequences" for those who are seduced by magic.
In contrast, Rowling's story shows a disregard for the "muggles", the humans in the story who do not possess magic, Rialti observes.
"There is nothing more antithetical to Harry Potter than Tolkien's young Frodo or Lewis' Pevensie siblings."
Tolkien and Lewis portray "the extraordinary discovery of true Christianity, for which the main character of history is not an exceptional human being, like in the ancient paganism or in today's ideologies, but a person who says yes to the initiatives of God's mysteries."
In Rowling's stories "we are told that, at the end, some things are not bad in themselves, if used for a good purpose: violence becomes good, if in the right hands and [used by] the right people, and maybe in the right dose."
Rialti concludes that "Harry Potter proposes a wrong and malicious image of the hero".
The English literature expert said that the model of an unreligious hero is worse than an explicitly anti-religious one.
In the Bible, the Devil “never says 'there is no God,' but presents instead the seductive proposition: 'you will be like God,'" writes Rialti.
He also warns that the Rowling books point toward a "new age spirituality" and lead to an "unhealthy interest" among youngsters in Satanism.
Representing an opposing view, Catholic essayist and writer Paolo Gulisano writes that Rowling's work is for a "post-modern" and individualistic world.
He contends that "behind the fabulous adventures of the different characters you can see the author's anthropological vision". She "wants to help the young reader understand that 'doing good' is the best thing to do," says Guilisano.
The article comes out as reports indicate the final installment in the Harry Potter movie franchise will be split into two parts, giving fans a double dose of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows . The seventh and last book of the Harry Potter series was released last summer. The books have sold millions of copies every time and have been adapted into several movies that report record-breaking high box office sales.
Cultural architect: why churches are declining in America
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/cultural.architect.why.churches.are.declining.in.america/16238.htm
A cutting-edge church leader in the US known for his innovative ideas on reaching a post-modern generation for Christ contends that the reason why churches are declining in America is because they are self-centered.
“My primary assessment would be because American Christians tend to be incredibly self-indulgent so they see the church as a place there for them to meet their needs and to express faith in a way that is meaningful for them,” said cultural architect Erwin McManus, lead pastor at Mosaic Church in Los Angeles, to The Christian Post on Monday.
“There is almost no genuine compassion or urgency about serving and reaching people who don’t know Christ,” he added.
McManus, whose church members’ average age is 25 years old, is known for breaking the “rules” of traditional church and applying spiritual creativity to engage and develop the next generation of Christian leaders.
Since becoming lead pastor of Mosaic about a decade ago, McManus’ church membership has grown from about 300 adults to more than 3,000 adults. The historically Southern Baptist church also boasts over 40 different nationalities and is “packed” with artists such as musicians, writers and filmmakers.
Among the attendees are also 80-year-old members from the generation before McManus arrived, who are said to “root on” the younger generation of church members.
While Mosaic and more modern churches are growing, many mainline Protestant churches are reporting worrisome decline in membership.
The United Methodist Church reported last year that its membership was at its lowest since 1930 with just over eight million members.
Meanwhile, the Lutheran World Federation reported that although its global membership increased in 2006, its western membership declined. Lutheran Christians in North America in general decreased about 1.41 per cent, while the LWF witnessed a 1.73 per cent drop.
The second largest LWF member church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – accounting for 4.85 million members – saw about a 1.6 percent drop in the same year.
Speaking about church decline in general, McManus concluded: “I think the bottom line really is our own spiritual narcissism. There are methods and you can talk about style, structure and music, but in the end it really comes down to your heart and what you care about,” he said.
He often explains that while the Bible does not change, the methods to effectively communicate the Word of God can.
The self-described cultural architect, someone who leads by combining both creativity and organised systems, helped put together this week’s Rethink Conference at another California megachurch, Crystal Cathedral. The conference will converge global leaders such as Rupert Murdoch, Larry King, former President George HW Bush and Christian thinkers to help pastors and ministry leaders better understand the world and thus improve their ability to communicate the gospel.
McManus and Mosaic Church will also host the annual Awaken conference from April 1 to 3, where prominent innovative Christian thinkers will offer different perspectives on developing ministry and the church.
Some of the Awaken speakers include Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church; Lee Strobel, bestselling author of The Case for Christ; Mark Batterson of National Community Church; and Hollywood producer Ralph Winter.
Malatya Martyrs: Oaks of Righteousness
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/238889.aspx
MALATYA, Turkey - On Easter Sunday, April 8, 2007, Necati Aydin was in the performance of his life.
The 36-year-old was playing the role of Jesus Christ in an Easter production.
"He loved to serve the Lord. That was his passion and goal in life," said Shemsa Aydin, wife of Necati Aydin.
Born into an Islamic family, Necati converted to Christianity in 1994.
"His family was so upset about his conversion," Shemsa said. "They even put a gun to his head and asked him to recant. But he did not."
Sitting in the audience that Easter morning were five Muslim men who had befriended Necati. According to Turkish authorities, the men wanted to know more about Christianity.
"They were pretending to be seekers," said Pastor Ihsan Ozbek.
Ten days later, on April 18, the men's true intensions would unravel in a brutal attack that would shake Turkey's tiny Christian community.
The five men stormed into Necati's office on the fourth floor of a building.
Armed with kitchen knives, the men tied up Necati and two other Christians, 46-year-old German citizen Tilman Geske and 32-year-old Ugur Yuksel, another Turkish convert from Islam.
"Every time I close my eyes, I can picture things very well," said Susanna Geske, wife of Tilman Geske. "So when I close my eyes I can see him sitting in the office."
Tilman and Susanna moved to Malatya in 1997. They knew that living here wasn't going to be easy. The city has deep Islamist and nationalistic roots. Anti-Christian sentiments run high here.
Ugur Yuksel experienced the tension in 2005 when protestors stood outside the same building, accusing him and other believers of using a publishing company to distribute Bibles.
Shemsa said, "The Bible tells us that when we accept Jesus into our lives, we must be willing to count the cost."
What happened next is still under investigation. But authorities tell us that for two hours the men were repeatedly tortured.
Susanna said, "He had lots and lots of bruises. He must have been beaten up a lot."
"During the torture, the men forced our husbands to recite Islamic prayers to try and get them to renounce their Christian faith," Shemsa said.
Police were dispatched to the scene after getting calls from a nearby office about suspicious activity.
Sources have told CBN News that as soon as the suspects heard the police coming, they decided to end the lives of the three Christians.
"They cut their throats!" Ozbek said.
When the police burst through the door, they found the three with their hands and legs tied to chairs. Tilman and Necati were dead, their throats slit open.
In a video obtained by CBN News, the police can be seen arresting some of the suspects inside the office. The alleged ringleader tried to escape by jumping from the fourth floor balcony. He is still in the hospital.
Ugur was on the floor but still breathing. He was rushed to a hospital but died several hours later.
The suspects reportedly told investigators that they killed the men in defense of Islam. All five were carrying a letter that read: "This should serve as a lesson to the enemies of our religion. We did it for our country."
When asked if she considered her husband a martyr for Christ, Susanna said, "Yes, I do. I think he died for the sake of Christ.and I can tell this to my kids and they'll know their father died for Jesus."
"I miss him a lot, but I know that my father is up in heaven having fun with Tilman and Ugur!" said 7-year-old Elisha, son of Necati.
The attack was the third against Christians in Turkey. A Catholic priest and a prominent Armenian journalist were killed in the last 12 months.
"Our prayer is that their blood will be seed of the church," Shemsa said.
Christians make up less than one percent of Turkey's 70 million people. The rest are Muslims. Evangelicals are an even smaller minority, numbering less than 3,500. Most of them are converts from Islam.
The situation for Christians has gotten worse in the last couple of years, especially after repeated negative stories about them in the national media.
Mustafa Akyol, a prominent Turkish journalist, believes that false claims only fuel the anti-Christian sentiment.
"The media unfortunately has repeatedly depicted missionaries as the fifth column of Western imperialism, and this Western imperialism supposedly tries to carve up Turkey into pieces," said Mustafa Akyol, Turkish Daily News.
And it's not just the media. Turkey's National Security Council has listed missionaries and several evangelical groups as threats to the country.
"They have set us up as a target for someone or whoever wants to make himself a hero," Jerry Mattix, missionary to Turkey, said. "and you know the government and the media are saying that these people are poisoning the minds of individuals and youth. And so anybody, any youth, will get up and say, 'Hey, you know if I kill one of these, then I'll look good.'"
Turkey is a secular country. Freedom of religion is guaranteed under the constitution. But some fear the country is edging towards a religious state ruled by radical Islamists.
A few days after their deaths, Susanna and Shemsa publicly forgave their husband's killers. It was an act that stunned the community and drew national attention.
Shemsa said, "We forgive them because Jesus forgave us."
"And He said we should love our enemies," Susanna said.
Susanna says her husband found comfort in the words of the prophet Isaiah. His last journal entry quoted Isaiah 61:1-3. Those words bring comfort and hope to the family he left behind, and a resolve to stay and finish the work.
Susanna then read the Scriptures,"The spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach Good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives.They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor."
Bush Makes Jan. 16 'Religious Freedom Day'
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/305416.aspx
President Bush is declared January 16 "Religious Freedom Day."
The proclamation was released by the White House while the president was visiting Saudi Arabia, a country which has historically cracked on on Christians.
In recent years, the book Operation World listed Saudi Arabia as the nation with the worst religious persecution on the planet.
The president is touring through the Middle East this week, promoting peace and democracy.
His proclamation states, "religious freedom belongs not to any one nation, but to the world, and my administration continues to support freedom of worship at home and abroad."
Suspect: How Turkish Christians Were Killed
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/305019.aspx
Here's an update to a story CBN News told you about last spring when three Christians were found murdered in Turkey.
The suspect said he put a plastic bags under one of the victim's head to make his death quote "comfortable" before his throat was slit.
Two of the victims had converted from Islam to Christianity, the other was a German Christian.
Authorities say five Muslim men befriended the trio and asked them questions about Christianity.
Police say all five suspects have confessed to the murders.
Islamic militants overrun Pakistani fort By ISHTIAQ MAHSUD and SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writers
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080117/ap_on_re_as/pakistan;_ylt=AiiGbqsGo_MWfmmWQFlRMkWs0NUE
In an embarrassing battlefield defeat for Pakistan's army, Islamic extremists attacked and seized a small fort near the Afghan border, leaving at least 22 soldiers dead or missing.
The insurgents later abandoned the fort and melted away into the hills, said military spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas. "There is no occupation of the Sararogha Fort. Militants have gone from there," he said.
The militants did not gain significant ground, but they did further erode confidence in the U.S.-allied government's ability to control the frontier area where the Taliban and al-Qaida flourish.
Attacks on security forces are rising in the volatile tribal region, and Pakistan is reeling from a series of suicide attacks that killed former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and hundreds more, chipping away at President Pervez Musharraf's prestige before Feb. 18 parliamentary elections.
"The militants are now challenging the army openly. They have become very bold and are consolidating their positions," Talat Masood, a retired general who is now a political analyst, said after Tuesday night's attack on Sararogha Fort.
Militants also fired small arms and rockets at a military base in Ladha, another town in South Waziristan, late Wednesday, drawing retaliatory fire from troops, the military said. No casualties were reported.
Separately, three rockets slammed near an air force base early Thursday in Kamra, a town about 30 miles northwest of the capital Islamabad, but no one was hurt.
The insurgents who seized the Sararogha Fort were said to be followers of Baitullah Mehsud, an Islamic hard-liner who since December has been sole leader of an umbrella group of Taliban sympathizers and who is also thought to have links to al-Qaida.
Musharraf has blamed Mehsud's movement, Tehrik-e-Taliban, for 19 suicide attacks that killed more than 450 people over the last three months. Mehsud, labeled enemy No. 1 by the government, also masterminded the brazen capture of 213 Pakistani soldiers last August.
Fighters of the pro-Taliban groups he leads have terrorized Pakistan's northwest, killing hundreds of soldiers, hunting down politicians, beheading women and burning schools that teach girls anything more than religion.
In the latest battle, insurgents launched a surprise attack on Sararogha Fort in South Waziristan and chased off its small garrison from the Frontier Constabulary, a paramilitary force formed of men from the area.
"About 200 militants charged the fort from four sides," Abbas said. "They broke through the fort's wall with rockets."
Seven of the 42 soldiers manning the fort were known dead, while 15 reached safety in Jandola, an army base about 10 miles south of the British colonial-era fort. Twenty were initially listed as missing, but five were later found. Abbas said the rest probably sought shelter in nearby villages.
The military claimed the defenders killed 50 militants before being overwhelmed. A spokesman for Tehrik-i-Taliban said that only two of its fighters died and that 16 soldiers were killed and 24 others captured, half of them wounded.
There was no way to verify casualty numbers. Both sides have long accused each other of exaggerating such figures.
The Tehrik-i-Taliban spokesman, Maulvi Muhammad Umer, warned the government to release Taliban prisoners and stop military operations in the frontier region or face militant attacks across Pakistan.
"Attacks will continue not only in the tribal areas, but we will target the government everywhere in the country," he told The Associated Press by telephone.
He said militants had destroyed the fort with explosives.
Sararogha Fort is one of four such posts in the Mehsud tribal region, where Baitullah Mehsud is based and has thousands of armed supporters.
On Sunday, the military said its troops repelled a similar attack last week on another fort, at Lhada, and killed 40 to 50 insurgents. On Monday, militants ambushed an army convoy in the same area, touching off a firefight that the military said killed 30 insurgents and Tehrik-i-Taliban said resulted only in some of its fighters being wounded.
Musharraf first deployed the army in Pakistan's semiautonomous tribal regions along the frontier in late 2001 to chase down al-Qaida militants fleeing the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Nearly 100,000 soldiers are now in the area, supported by heavy artillery and Cobra helicopter gunships, but they have had little success in stopping militants from infiltrating into Afghanistan or in quelling Pakistan's own worsening Islamic insurgency.
Government tactics have vacillated between use of extreme force and appeasement. Pro-Taliban forces now appear capable of launching the kind of coordinated assaults inside Pakistan's border regions as they do in the volatile south and east of Afghanistan.
A U.S. intelligence estimate last year said a Musharraf peace pact in 2006 with Taliban militants had allowed al-Qaida to regroup in Pakistan's tribal belt, a possible hiding place of Osama bin Laden and his top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri.
In Florida, the head of the U.S. military's Central Command said the rise in violence was pushing Pakistan to be more open to suggestions that American troops train and advise Pakistani forces.
That is a touchy subject in predominantly Muslim Pakistan, where many people are leery of Musharraf's alliance with Washington since the Sept. 11 terror attacks, but Navy Adm. William J. Fallon said he believes Pakistani leaders are beginning to view the militants as a dire threat.
"They see they've got real problems internally," Fallon said.
Masood, the political analyst, said tribesmen along the frontier are increasingly joining up with Taliban forces from across the border in Afghanistan.
"Even if they don't support the Taliban per se, they are now siding with them rather than the government because they think Musharraf and the army are an extension of the Americans," he said.
Washington considers Musharraf a key ally in the fight against extremist groups. President Bush and other U.S. officials have frequently praised Musharraf, who seized power in a 1999 coup but resigned from the army in December and is now ruling as a civilian president.
After the fall of Sararogha Fort, opposition leaders were quick to blame Musharraf for the deteriorating security situation.
"Musharraf is the root cause of all problems," said Nawaz Sharif, a leading opposition politician and the prime minister who was ousted by Musharraf in 1999.
"If he goes, 95 percent of the problems of this country will be solved. There will be no bomb blasts, there will be no missile attacks," Sharif told reporters in his hometown of Lahore.
Pilot Says He Can Explain Stephenville UFO Sightings
http://www.nbc5i.com/news/15069744/detail.html
FORT WORTH, Texas -- A Fort Worth medical helicopter pilot said he knows what caused the strange lights that appeared in the sky near Stephenville last week.
Chuck Mueller was flying a medical helicopter from a Fort Worth hospital, heading south just after sunset last Thursday. He said he saw unusual lights on the horizon near Granbury.
"We were maybe five minutes into the flight when we saw the lights come on, one little orange light, and then another one and another one in sequence across the sky," he said.
His description is similar to what a county constable and dozens of others in Stephenville had described seeing two nights earlier.
"And it was something that I'd never seen before," Mueller said. "And I looked at the medic and he looked at me, and we were like, 'What was that?'"
Muller, a former Army pilot in Iraq, said an explanation "kind of hit" him.
"I'll bet that was an airplane dropping flares, dispensing flares as he was flying along," he said. "It all makes sense. The color was right."
Stephenville is close to the Brownwood Military Operations Area, a major training area for fighter jets.
Other witnesses said they would like to believe Mueller's theory, but it doesn't answer all of their questions.
"But it doesn't explain these little lights," Erath County Constable Lee Roy Gaitan said. "And then the thing about it is just the speed."
They said the lights zipped across the sky at lightning speed.
"An airplane can't do that," Gaitan said. "A helicopter can't do that."
An Air Force spokesman at Fort Worth's Joint Reserve Base said there were no military planes at all in the area last Tuesday.
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