CHINA – PRIESTS, NUNS BRUTALLY ASSAULTED IN CHINA

China Aid Association
NEWS ALERTS

NEPAL  –  CHRISTIANS IN NEPAL FACE DANGER AS THEY EVANGELIZE

REVIEW  –  TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY
TURKEY  –  TURKISH CHRISTIAN ‘BOYCOTTS’ ANOTHER COURT HEARING
INDIA  –  VILLAGE HEAD VOWS TO ERADICATE CHRISTIANITY (INDIA)
TURKMENISTAN  –  TURKMENISTAN AUTHORITIES RAID BAPTIST CHURCH, QUESTION 7 MEMBERS
KYRGYSTAN  –  CHRISTIANS IN KYRGYZSTAN READY TO PAY THE ULTIMATE PRICE
CHRISTMAS  –  BEING A CHRISTIAN CAN BE DEADLY IN THE REAL WAR ON CHRISTMAS
RUSSIA  –  RUSSIAN RELIGIOUS REPRESSION ”SIMILAR TO THAT OF A PREVIOUS ERA”
INDONESIA  –  POLICE IN INDONESIA URGE CHURCHES TO PREPARE FOR CHRISTMAS ATTACKS
AMAZING_GRACE  –  CHRISTMAS 2005: AMAZING GRACE, BUT SUFFERING AND TERRORISM
VIOLENCE  –  A CHRISTIAN YOUTH IN INDIA IS GUNNED DOWN
REJECTED  –  HIGH COURT REJECTS APPEAL FOR SCHOOLTEACHERS IN INDONESIA
CHINA  –  PRIESTS, NUNS BRUTALLY ASSAULTED IN CHINA
PAKISTAN  –  FATHER OF MURDERED PAKISTANI CHRISTIAN REQUESTS POLICE PROTECTION
MEXICO  –  GROWTH OF EVANGELICAL CHURCHES IN MEXICO DRAWS BACKLASH
UPDATE  –  JAILED HOUSE CHURCH PASTOR SECOND TRIAL VERDICT REMAINED UNCHANGED (CHINA)
BELARUS  –  BELARUS CRIMINALISES THE DISCREDITING OF LUKASHENKA REGIME


HEADLINE:       CHRISTIANS IN NEPAL FACE DANGER AS THEY EVANGELIZE

Source:            www.mnnonline.org

December 19, 2005

Nepal (MNN) — Maoist rebels have extended a unilateral cease fire in Nepal, hoping this will allow for negotiations in the 10 year old conflict in the world’s only Hindu kingdom.  Despite the cease fire, government forces have continued the fight causing problems for national Christians.

IN Network’s[2]   Rody Rodeheaver. “Many of our people are right in the middle of where the government and Maoist guerrillas are engaged. And so, it’s been a very difficult time for them.  It’s curtailed a lot of their movements. It’s caused them to be very, very careful.  For instance, they would not be wise to go out at night because they may not come back.” Despite the violence and uncertainty, Rodeheaver says Christians are focused.  “In the midst of all of this they are working diligently to share the Gospel in any way they can.  It’s a great opportunity because in times like this people ask the hard questions that are answered by the truth of the Gospel.”
Full Story: http://www.mnnonline.org/article/8101

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HEADLINE:       TRIUMPH AND TRAGEDY

Source:            www.assistnews.net

Date:                December 19, 2005

Review Of The Persecuted Church Worldwide In 2005
OPEN DOORS USA
Jerry Dykstra, Media Relations Coordinator
Phone: 616-915-4117
E-mail:
[email protected]
Web site: www.opendoorsusa.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SANTA ANA, CA (ANS) — As we celebrate the birth of our Lord this Christmas season and mark the end of another year, we need to pause and reflect on the status of our brothers and sisters who are being tortured, imprisoned and even killed for their faith in Jesus Christ.
In 2005 there was an increase in persecution of Christians in such countries as North Korea, Indonesia and Eritrea, to name just a few.
The estimated 400,000 Christians in North Korea faced daily persecution, including torture in prison camps. That is one of the reasons North Korea for the third year in a row topped Open Doors’ 2005 World Watch List of countries where persecution is most severe. As a result, Open Doors USA launched a Prayer Campaign for North Korea which is on-going (go to www.opendoors.org/3ypnk-us/  to sign up.)
In Indonesia, more Christians were killed and churches burned. Three Christian women — Dr. Rebekka Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun — were arrested for running a “Happy Sunday” program for children. Muslim fundamentalists protested that they were proselytizing Muslim children and as a result the three were convicted and sentenced to three years in prison. But even in prison, Rebekka organized a Sunday worship service in the courtyard and led two fellow inmates to Christ. Rebekka said: “It’s hard being here but I know I am pleasing God by doing His work.”
ERITREA PERSECUTION INCREASES
In the little eastern African country of Eritrea, 26 pastors and 1,700 evangelical church members are now imprisoned and some have been tortured by government military forces. That’s double the total imprisoned from a year ago. Some religious prisoners are being held in metal shipping containers without legal representation. Open Doors USA responded to the increased persecution there by launching an E-Petition Campaign for Eritrea, which urges Congress and the Department of State to work to put a stop to the persecution. To sign the petition, go to www.odusa.org/AdvocacyCampaign.
Also, in response to the Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia, Open Doors launched a $2 million relief campaign called “Wave of Hope” to support and strengthen partner churches in Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India. Over the past year Open Doors — which already was working with the Persecuted Church in the tsunami areas — brought hope in the midst of suffering by providing shelter, rebuilding churches, trauma counseling, funding livelihood projects and replacing lost Bibles and study materials. Open Doors was one of hundreds of Christian ministries reaching out in love to the tsunami victims. As a result, Christians impacted people of all faiths in their communities.
Open Doors also brought emergency aid to Pakistan, which suffered devastation from a huge earthquake this fall.
While there was tragedy and tears among members of the Persecuted Church around the world, there were also victories and rejoicing in how the Lord provided through His loving hands and the support of those who prayed for our brothers and sisters
CHANGING LIVES IN ETHIOPIA
For example, in Ethiopia, for 12 years, Kedija, a Muslim women, lived with severe back pain and unexplainably could not use her legs. She was entirely dependant on others. She gave away all her possessions to pay for healing from a witch doctor. She stayed with him for a year in his house, but there was no healing.
Her two teenage daughters offered themselves as wives to another witch doctor so he would be able to heal their mother. He said he could heal her for $250. But that didn’t work and the witch doctor skipped town.

As a last resort she sought out a Christian evangelist in another village. He rode into Kedija’s village on a bike provided by Open Doors to pray for her.
He explained that only God could heal her — through His son Jesus Christ. Kedija understood that and he prayed for her. Her eldest daughter left screaming€¦not liking the loud prayers. The evangelist ran after her and prayed for here. He cast a demon out of her. At the same time, Kedija started to scream uncontrollably.
The evangelist cast the demon out of her, too, and she was healed€¦and able to walk.
There was so much attention drawn to her, that as she accepted Christ and was healed, her entire family and 38 others came to Christ. Kedija’s husband had built a mosque on their compound, but after his wife’s healing, he offered the building to be used as a church. They then had a water baptism where the 38 Muslim Background Believers were baptized along with 300 other believers
MINISTRY TO BELIEVERS CONTINUES
Also, Open Doors was able to send over 3 million Bibles and other study materials to China — among many other countries — where house church members thirst for the Word. All of these resources are designed to equip church leaders to stand firm against persecution and the widespread influence of cults and false teachings. Open Doors trained hundreds of pastors through its “Standing Strong Through the Storm” seminars.
This year Open Doors celebrated 50 years of supporting and strengthening persecuted Christians. From its humble beginning in 1955 when founder Brother Andrew made a daring trip behind the Iron Curtain to distribute Christian literature, Open Doors now works in 45 of the most dangerous countries in the world with a staff of 350.
“As we look back over the past year and the last 50 years, we rejoice at all the Lord has done through Open Doors and its ministry to Persecuted Christians around the world,” says Open Doors USA President Dr. Carl Moeller. “God has truly blessed this ministry.
“But there is more work that needs to be done. Persecution of God’s Church is on the rise and we must be ready. We need to be ready to go and to pray. We need to press on in 2006 — partnering together to support our brothers and sisters in Christ.”
An estimated 200 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with another 200 to 400 million facing discrimination and alienation. Open Doors, celebrating 50 years of service to persecuted Christians in 2005, serves and strengthens the Persecuted Church in the world’s most difficult areas through Bible and Christian literature distribution, leadership training and assistance, Christian community development, prayer and presence ministry and advocacy on behalf of suffering believers. To partner with Open Doors, call toll free at 888-5-BIBLE-5 (524-2535) or go to our USA Web site at www.opendoorsusa.org.  To request a complimentary six-month subscription to our monthly newsletter Frontline Faith, call 888-5-BIBLE-5 or register on-line.
(For more information or to set up an interview, contact Jerry Dykstra at 616-915-4117).

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HEADLINE:       TURKISH CHRISTIAN ‘BOYCOTTS’ ANOTHER COURT HEARING

Source:            www.compassdirect.org

Date:                December 19, 2005

Injured victim’s absence postpones second set of medical findings.
by Barbara G. Baker

ISTANBUL, December 19 (Compass) — For the third time in six months, Turkish Christian Yakup Cindilli has failed to appear at court hearings against the ultra-nationalists who beat him into a coma two years ago for distributing New Testaments in his hometown. The clerk of the Orhangazi Criminal Court near Bursa, in northwestern Turkey, confirmed to Compass last week that Cindilli had not attended a hearing on Thursday (December 15). The partially recovered Christian had left Orhangazi last June, apparently circulating in various areas of Istanbul over the summer months.

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HEADLINE:       VILLAGE HEAD VOWS TO ERADICATE CHRISTIANITY (INDIA)

Source:            www.persecution.org

Date:                December 19, 2005

(December 19, 2005) The Washington-DC based human rights group, International Christian Concern (ICC) www.persecution.org has just become informed that Christian converts of Bivsi Dabhadi village in the western state of Maharashtra, India have been attacked for a second time in two months in a campaign by the village head to eradicate Christianity from the village.

On December 10, four villagers, including the village head, tried to attack a convert, Dhakya Laksya Bhavar. “The attackers came with sticks, stones and sickles to beat the convert, but he managed to escape,” a representative of the local Friend Missionary Prayer Band (FMPB) told ICC. The convert promptly lodged a police complaint, but the police had not arrested any of the attackers at press time.
Prior to this, a group of about 20 villagers led by the village head assaulted two converts, Rajalya and Soma Bhavar, on November 1. The attackers beat the two Christians with sticks and told them they were not allowed to live in the village. Both received internal injuries. The mob also vandalized the houses of six other Christians.
Although the Christian victims went to the police station to lodge a complaint, the police did not accept it. Rather, the police inspector accepted a false complaint that one of the attackers lodged against the Christian victims. An ICC representative spoke to Inspector C.R. Jhadav of the Kasa police station about the lack of police action in regards to the Christians. The inspector said he had no knowledge of attacks against Christians.
After the Christians returned from the police station, the village head told them that he would throw them out of the village no matter which police station or government official they approached. He also promised them at this point that he would eradicate Christianity from the village.
A representative of FMPB said that the village head “began the anti-Christian campaign about two years ago by physically attacking Christians and asking them to re-convert to their original faith.”
“Anti-Christian villagers have also been trying to make the Christians go back to their old habit of drinking alcohol ever since. But, the Christians have not given in to their continual coercion,” he added.
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HEADLINE:       TURKMENISTAN AUTHORITIES RAID BAPTIST CHURCH, QUESTION 7 MEMBERS

Source;            www.hcjb.org

Date:                December 19, 2005

Baptists in the Central Asian country of Turkmenistan continue to face pressure from authorities. On Saturday, Dec. 17, officials with the Ministry of State Security (secret police) entered a meeting of the Turkmen-speaking registered Baptist church in Deynau in the northeastern Lebap region. Seven church members were holding a house group meeting when a police officer, a public prosecutor and a local imam raided the house of a recent convert to Christianity. During the raid, the secret police officer and prosecutor started shouting and threatening the Christians and began searching the house (without a search warrant) for religious literature. Two Christians had their personal Bibles confiscated. Later the seven congregants were taken to the public prosecutor’s office where they were again threatened and insulted. Officials told the Baptists that local authorities should hold public meetings in villages to name Christians and denounce them as traitors. The officials also threatened one woman with expulsion from her rented apartment. The detainees were forced to justify their actions in writing before being released. (Forum 18 News Service)
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HEADLINE:       CHRISTIANS IN KYRGYZSTAN READY TO PAY THE ULTIMATE PRICE

Source:            www.mnnonline.org

Date:                December 20, 2005

Kyrgyzstan (MNN) — The government of Kyrgyzstan is tightening its grip on religious freedom since a successful coup in March.  According to  Bridge International[3] , Christians are ready for the change. RK Ulrich with the Bridge says, “There is a lot of pressure on the Christian leaders.  There is a risk by a large group, by the Muslims (of course), and also believe it or not, the Orthodox Church too see that the evangelical church is muzzled.” Ulrich recently returned from the region and she says the church is ready. “They are saying, ‘we’ll take what will comes.’  They are not at all discouraged.  They’re just bracing for the fact that, yes, it’s going to be tougher.  They’re training their people for the fact that they’re going to have to stand up and be counted, but you see they have that attitude anyway.” If persecution against Christians takes place, Ulrich
says the church will grow at an even faster rate.
Full Story: http://www.mnnonline.org/article/8108


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HEADLINE:       BEING A CHRISTIAN CAN BE DEADLY IN THE REAL WAR ON CHRISTMAS

Source:            www.assistnews.net

Date:                December 20, 2005
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

WASHINGTON, D.C. (ANS) — Christmas is a time of joy for Christians and, for multitudes around the world, a time of suffering, writes Nina Shea, the director of Freedom House’s Center for Religious Freedom, in an article for the National Review Online.
Shea writes that last Wednesday, under the auspices of Senator Rick Santorum and the Congressional Working Group on Religious Freedom that he co-chairs with Congressman Roy Blunt, some of the world’s foremost defenders of persecuted Christians gathered in the U.S. Capitol to draw attention to this suffering.
“Over Christmas 2000 in Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country and one traditionally renowned for its religious toleration, terrorists bombed churches in 18 cities, killing scores and wounding hundreds,” Shea says.
At Wednesday’s forum, Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver observed that “violence against the Christian minority has steadily continued over the past decade.”
“As an example,” Shea says, “he cited the beheadings of three Christian teenage girls in Sulawesi in late October. International Christian Concern’s Jeff King brought photos of the incident; the girls’ heads were left at a church, each with a note that vowed, ‘We will murder 100 more Christian teenagers and their heads will be presented as presents.’ “
Last Christmas in Iraq, St. John’s Church near Mosul was attacked, Shea says.
Assyrian cultural expert Eden Naby described the scene: “The Mass begins. It is cold inside the stone church. Suddenly you hear automatic fire. The doors fly open. The Christian guards are shot, and in march armed Kurdish Peshmarga who shoot up the church, beat up the priest and drive the parishioners cowering home.”
In prior months, Shea said,other churches in southern Iraq had been bombed by Islamic militants, some during worship services. She adds that “though the terror came from two different sources, in each case the purpose was the same — to intimidate and force out the ancient Chaldo Assyrian Christian community.”
Shea continues: “In Saudi Arabia, Christians, a large percentage of the foreign workers making up a quarter of the population, will not be able to find any churches whatsoever to worship in this Christmas — churches are forbidden. Dozens of those who pray together in private houses were arrested and jailed earlier this year. This fanatically intolerant kingdom even forbids Muslims, under threat of death, to wish a Christian ‘Happy Holidays,’ much less ‘Merry Christmas. ‘ “
Christians face similar repression in Iran, she says.

“Episcopal priest, Rev. Keith Roderick, representing Christian Solidarity International, reported that as the Christmas season got underway around the world last month, Tehran’s tyrannical President Ahmadinejad met with 30 provincial governors and reportedly declared, ‘I will stop Christianity in this country,’ avowing to shut down the country’s growing house-church movement.”
She adds: “Egypt had been a place of refuge for the Holy Family fleeing Herod’s wrath. Today, however, Christians are fleeing Egypt itself. As Fr. Roderick attested, Christians are treated as ‘second-class citizens’ under state-sponsored discrimination and actively persecuted by Islamic militants apart from the government. He cited the week-long riot in October against St. George’s Coptic Church in Alexandria by a 10,000-strong mob incensed by rumors of blasphemy.”
Shea writes: “Christians in Pakistan will be wise to keep their Christmas celebrations low-key this year. One of them, Yousaf Masih, a 60-year-old illiterate janitor from northwestern Pakistan, is among those under arrest for ‘blasphemy’ because he allegedly burned a Koran.

“As Paul Marshall of the Center for Religious Freedom recounted, three weeks ago in Sangala Hill, after word of his case got out, mobs destroyed three churches, a convent, a Christian school, and Christian homes. Last week a militant mob rallied to demand Masih’s public hanging and the eradication of the entire Christian community there.
“And while China manufactures and exports Christmas lights and ornaments, it arrests and imprisons Christians who lead worship services, preach, or minister without state approval. Richard Land, director of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, gave as an example Catholic Bishop James Su Zhimin of Hebei, who on December 25 will be observing his 27th Christmas in confinement. Cai Zhuohua, a Protestant pastor in Beijing, was sentenced in early November to three years in the gulag, or laogai as it’s called in China, for printing and distributing Bibles. His defense lawyer, the prominent civil rights attorney Gao Zhisheng, also a Christian, has been disbarred and now worries he may become his own next client.”
Shea says that Christmas has been banned in North Korea for half a century.
“Land reported on a new study conducted by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom — ‘Thank you, Father Kim Il Sung’ — based on dozens of in-depth interviews with North Korean escapees. All of them said that there is absolutely no freedom of thought, conscience or belief in North Korea. All report, in fact, that such liberties are explicitly and actively prohibited. None had ever seen churches in North Korea. Most did not know of the three state-controlled churches in Pyongyang, the country’s only churches. None of the interviewees was aware of any authorized religious activity inside North Korea.
“Two interviewees provided graphic and detailed eyewitness testimony of the summary executions of individuals accused of engaging in unauthorized religious activities. Another interviewee said that her brother was executed for involvement in such activities. One additional interviewee had heard of executions of North Koreans involved in unauthorized religious activities, and, as a police official, had been involved in two separate cases resulting in the arrest of eleven individuals accused of involvement in such religious activities. Of the eleven arrested, two died during interrogation; the interviewee believed that the other nine had been executed. Others mentioned executions they had heard about but had not witnessed themselves.”
Shea says Vietnam, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, India, Cuba, Eritrea, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan as also among the countries cited for violent anti-Christian persecution. And, as the panelists remarked, this list could be extended.
“One mark of hope for genuine religious freedom was offered by Marshall at the forum’s conclusion. He noted that, this Christmas, many churches in Indonesia will be surrounded by the uniformed Muslim Banser group, a wing of Nahdlatul Ulama, the world’s largest Muslim organization. The Bansers will not be there to attack the churches but to help protect them from extremists, to prevent any reprise of the Christmas 2000 bombings. Nahdlatul Ulama has done this for several years, in cooperation with the police and the Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist communities.”
She concludes: “Christmas is a time of great suffering for these communities. But as these persecuted Christians commemorate the birth of Jesus from their jail cells, within their house churches, or silently in their hearts, it is also a time of joy. For them, truly, the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”

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HEADLINE:       RUSSIAN RELIGIOUS REPRESSION ”SIMILAR TO THAT OF A PREVIOUS ERA”

Source:            www.assistnews.neet

Date:                December 20, 2005
American Christians Urged To Pray For The Russian Church And Its Leaders
By Michael Ireland
Chief Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA (ANS) — Russia is currently experiencing a resurgence of religious repression similar to that of an earlier period in that country’s history.
“Our country, Russia experiences a very difficult time now. In many respects it is very similar to the 1920-1930 period in Russian history,” writes Isabel Du Toit, Head of Prayer Ministry for the TBN and Association of Christian Churches ‘Union of Christians,’ in an e-mail obtained by ASSIST News Service (ANS).

“During that time Secret Services were trying to destroy churches in Russia. Their main tactics was to divide the Church trough its special agents inside the Church and to slander against the leaders of the Church,” DuToit says.
“Today we face a new wave of slander against Christian leaders in Russia. There are waves of gossip to discredit Russian main Christian leaders, i.e. Bishop Sergey Ryahovsky (head of the Russian Pentecostal Union), Bishop Paul Okara (head of the Russian Evangelical Church) and Bishop Igor ‘Nikki’ Nikitin (head of the Association of Christian Churches ‘Union of Christians).
Du Toit says the U.S. Congress in its resolution # 190 “€¦urged the Russian Federation to ensure full protection of freedoms for all religious communities without distinction, where registered and unregistered, and end the harassment of unregistered religious groups by the security apparatus and other governmental agencies.”
DuToit asks concerned Christians in the United States to “please stand with us in prayer to end this tendency and prevent the repetition of these happenings.”
Please pray for the Russian Union of Churches and its leaders, Sergey Ryahovsky, Paul Okara and Igor ‘Nikki’ Nikitin; for protection for the Church in Russia from splits and destructions; for outpouring of the Holy Spirit over Russia.

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HEADLINE:       POLICE IN INDONESIA URGE CHURCHES TO PREPARE FOR CHRISTMAS ATTACKS

Source:            www.hcjb.org

Date:                December 20, 2005

Police have urged churches in and around the Indonesian city of Solo to dig holes for disposing of suspicious objects that might be bombs, an officer said amid fears of Christmas-related attacks. Police across the world’s most populous Muslim country have been stepping up security measures ahead of the yearend holidays to avoid a repeat of 2000 Christmas Eve bombings of churches in several Indonesian cities which killed 19 people. “I urged churches, especially those in villages, to dig holes to throw away suspicious objects that might be bombs,” Solo Police Chief Abdul Madjid told Reuters. For inner city churches with nowhere to dig, “I order them to make bomb baskets,” he said, referring to large metal drums the police bomb squad uses for defusing explosives. “This is an anticipatory act. Who knows; there might be a pack of bombs,” Madjid said. Officers had been assigned to guard more than 60 churches in the city, and priests were asked to tell congregations to bring only “essential items” to Christmas events such as Bibles and hymnbooks, and not carry backpacks, he said. (WorldWide Religious News/Reuters)

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HEADLINE:       CHRISTMAS 2005: AMAZING GRACE, BUT SUFFERING AND TERRORISM

Source:            http://www.evangelicalalliance.org.au/rlc/
Date:                December 21, 2005

AMAZING GRACE, AND BOLDNESS IN PRAYER
‘This is how God showed his love among us: he sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his
Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.’ 1 John 4:9,10 NIV
Surely the most precious of all images in scripture is that of Jesus ‘the Lamb of God’ (John 1:29). What is so amazing, even beyond comprehension, is that God’s provision of Jesus as
sacrificial lamb was not motivated by pity or any sense of obligation. God’s provision was motivated by love. Humanity’s fall put God’s love and justice in conflict. God’s love cried out
to his rebellious people, ‘I cannot give you up!’ while his justice cried out ‘the wages of sin is death!’. God sent Jesus into the world to suffer the Cross so both love and justice could
be satisfied. What’s more, this ‘love that surpasses knowledge’ is not a love we deserved, but a love born of grace. (Ephesians 2: 4,5)
An understanding of amazing grace gives us confidence to pray for all believers. God loves his ‘chosen ones’ SO much that he will not put off granting them justice when they cry out to him (Luke 18:1-8). His love for his Church is consuming; it is a wide, long, high and deep love that ‘surpasses knowledge’ (Ephesians 3:18,19).
An understanding of amazing grace gives us confidence to pray for the lost, even those who persecute Christ’s Church. They do not deserve God’s love, God’s redemption, God’s sacrificial lamb, God’s salvation — but neither did we.

Amazing grace leaves no place for pride and no place for hopelessness. Amazing grace opens the door to prayer without limits and hope beyond reason. This Christmas, as we reflect on
the amazing ‘love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord’ (Romans 8:39), let’s commit afresh to rejecting shallowness, timidity and faint-heartedness in prayer. Let’s commit afresh to
prayer with bold expectation (Psalm 5:3) empowered by faith in God’s amazing grace.

———- SUFFERING AND TERRORISM AT CHRISTMAS ———-
Many hundreds of Christians imprisoned in Eritrea, China and Vietnam will remain separated from loved ones this Christmas. Many thousands of Christians incarcerated in North Korea’s
network of concentration camps may not even be aware it is Christmas. Multitudes of believers in Asia, Cuba, Belarus, Iran and the Arab world will celebrate the birth of the Saviour in quiet, secret fellowships, risking persecution as they do every week. On top of that, Christians living in jihad (Islamic holy war) zones risk being targeted in their churches this Christmas.

In 2000 a plot to wreak massive terror over Christmas in Jordan and the Holy Land was foiled, while in Indonesia, 19 people died and some 100 were wounded when 18 bombs exploded simultaneously in churches in seven cities on Christmas Eve. On Christmas night 2002,
three children were killed and 13 were injured when Islamic militants threw grenades into a special Christmas service for children in the Presbyterian chapel in Chianwali, Punjab. The most
vulnerable regions for church bombings this year are Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Iraq. Intelligence reports indicate terrorists in Indonesia are in the final stages of planning for a
major campaign against churches, Western targets and foreigners. 

* LET’S PRAY:
Dear Father, we know that you love your Church with a divine love that surpasses knowledge. We know that in your love you established Christ as supreme authority for the benefit of your beloved Church (Ephesians 1:22). And so we pray for those who will worship you this Christmas amidst suffering and threats of terror — please deliver them from evil (Matthew 6:13), surround them with your protection, and fill them with love, joy and peace in their Saviour. 
We also know that no person is forgiven and saved because they earned or deserved it. We testify that we ourselves were separated from God by sin and guilt, until God reached into our
filthy, morbid darkness and rescued us from a sentence of death. So, without pride or hate, we pray for those who sit in that place of condemnation where we ourselves once sat. We especially
pray for those who persecute and plot terror against your Church.

We pray that you will not only frustrate their wicked plans (Psalm 146:9) but that you will mercifully send your Holy Spirit in great resurrecting power to amazingly and graciously rescue and transform multitudes of lost, undeserving sinners this Christmas.
Forgive us our lack of faith. Forgive us our pride and lack of love. Revive and renew us that we may live and pray in harmony with the mind and will of Jesus Christ our gracious Saviour who
came not only for us, but for others yet to be gathered (Isaiah 56:8). For the kingdom and glory of God.     AMEN

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HEADLINE:       A CHRISTIAN YOUTH IN INDIA IS GUNNED DOWN

Source:            www.mnnonline.org

Date:                December 21, 2005

India (MNN) — A 15-year-old member of  Gospel for Asia’s[1]  Believers Church was killed in Assam, India, as tribal violence has erupted again. Speaking from India, Gospel for Asia’s founder KP Yohannan says while this was tribal violence, Christians need to be careful. “People take advantage of this kind of opportunity to actually go after believers who have left their tribal customs.” Yohannan says this is difficult for GFA. “We have believers in both of these tribes, as a matter of fact.  We have very strong work in the Karbi people, including a Bible college.” GFA Bible college students and missionaries, who converted from these tribal customs, are sharing the Gospel, says Yohannan. They’re saying, “Your tribal practices and all this is only destroying you.  And again, this is an opportunity used by many of the believers to witness to their neighbors and relatives and people are turning to Christ.” Christians are being asked to pray for the situation that’s seen men, women and children killed.  Pray for peace and that the church will be protected.
Full Story: http://www.mnnonline.org/article/8114

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HEADLINE:       HIGH COURT REJECTS APPEAL FOR SCHOOLTEACHERS IN INDONESIA

Source:            www.compassdirect.org

Date:                December 21, 2005

Pastor’s dream to be home for Christmas remains unfulfilled.
by Sarah Page

DUBLIN, December 21 (Compass) — Dr. Rebekka Zakaria, one of three women imprisoned for breaching Indonesia’s Child Protection Law, had secretly prayed to be home for Christmas.
Zakaria conveyed this wish to a Compass staff member during a prison visit in October. At the time, lawyer Posma Rajagukguk was preparing an appeal to the provincial High Court, seeking to overturn their conviction.
The court, however, rejected the appeal in mid November.
Zakaria, Eti Pangesti and Ratna Bangun were sentenced to three years in prison on September 1, after allowing Muslim children to attend a Christian education program. The children’s parents had given verbal permission, but when Muslim radicals took the case to court in June, the parents were afraid to testify on behalf of the defendants. (See Compass Direct, “Indonesian Sunday School Teachers Sentenced to Three Years in Prison,” September 1.)
A school in the Indramayu district had asked the Christian Church of David’s Camp, pastored by Zakaria, to run the program for Christian students, as required by the National Education System Bill of 2003.
Rajagukguk will appeal to a higher court in the new year. His clients, however, will spend this Christmas behind bars — joining countless other Christians around the world who are imprisoned on charges of blasphemy, worshiping in unregistered churches, or similar charges that are themselves breaches of international human rights covenants. 
During the prison visit in October, all three women seemed calm and at peace, although Bangun was tearful when visiting time came to an end.
Zakaria said several friends had encouraged her to write down the “faith lessons” she was learning in prison. She will do so eventually, she said — so far she’s received so many visitors that she hasn’t had time to get to it.
“I never imagined I would be in prison — never,” she added. “But I will submit to whatever God wants for me.”
Zakaria’s daughter still brings food to the prison almost daily. One visitor also brought in a small gas stove; the women use this to cook meals for themselves and others in their cell block.  Prison food barely meets basic nutritional needs and is far from appetizing.
Surprisingly, since Muslim radicals forced Zakaria’s church to close in December of last year, prison guards have allowed her to hold a church service in the prison courtyard on Sundays. Around 35 church members attend each week.
Letters arriving from countries around the world are also a huge encouragement, although the women are embarrassed that they cannot reply to them all.
While the letters have provided emotional strength, the rejection of the appeal was a major blow.
There is still some hope that the sentence may be reduced, as in the case of the Rev. Rinaldy Damanik, an Indonesian pastor imprisoned for three years on what many believe were false charges. A Muslim cleric intervened on Damanik’s behalf and secured an early release for him in 2004.
Politician Ruyandi Hutasoit challenged the constitutionality of the Child Protection Law in court in November. His lawyers said that Article 86 of the law — which carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment for offenders — should be declared unconstitutional and struck down, the Jakarta Post reported on November 19.
The case, however, was adjourned to allow Hutasoit to “amend” his legal arguments.
With these developments in mind, Zakaria, Pangesti and Bangun have asked for ongoing prayer. The prospect of three years in prison is difficult to face — especially with Christmas fast approaching.


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HEADLINE:       PRIESTS, NUNS BRUTALLY ASSAULTED IN CHINA

Source:            www.compassdirect.org

Date:                December 21, 2005

Disruption of peaceful protests highlight fragile state of religious freedom.
by Xu Mei

NANJING, China, December 21 (Compass) — Mobs attacked nuns in Xi’an and priests in Tianjin during the past month as the Roman Catholics peacefully tried to settle property disputes with the government. At press time, Chinese police surrounded a group of Catholic priests and nuns who have locked themselves into the building they claim. About 30 people with steel bars, sticks and bricks on December 16 had attacked a group of priests applying for recovery of the property. AsiaNews reported that police detained the clergymen, not the attackers, denying the severely beaten priests hospital care. And on November 23 in Xi’an, a group of 40 men armed with wooden sticks attacked 200 nuns peacefully protesting the illegal demolition of their diocesan school. The nuns had started a sit-in in this northern city when the mob, widely regarded to have been sent by the government, mocked and then physically attacked the nuns, shouting ‘Kill them! Kill them!” 
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HEADLINE:       FATHER OF MURDERED PAKISTANI CHRISTIAN REQUESTS POLICE PROTECTION

Source:            www.hcjb.org

Date:                December 22, 2005

The father of a Pakistani Christian tortured to death by Muslim seminary students in 2004 has requested police protection after receiving death threats for refusing to drop charges against his son’s attackers. Pervez Masih and his lawyer appealed to Judge Mohammed Javed Iqbal for protection from radical Muslim clerics at a hearing Thursday, Dec. 15, in the Punjabi town of Toba Tek Singh. Islamists have stepped up pressure on Masih since the re-arrest last month of Maulvi Ghulam Rasool, charged with torturing Javed Anjum to death for refusing to convert to Islam. Members of a radical Islamic group have targeted Masih and his lawyer three times in the past three weeks. On each occasion small crowds of 50 clerics armed with pistols gathered outside the courtroom, yelling that they would not “spare the lives of liars,” and jostling the plaintiff as he exited trial hearings. (Compass)


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HEADLINE:       GROWTH OF EVANGELICAL CHURCHES IN MEXICO DRAWS BACKLASH

Source:            www.hcjb.org

Date:                December 22, 2005

While freedom of religion is guaranteed by Mexico’s constitution, the steady growth of evangelical congregations has produced a backlash among the country’s Catholic majority. Some Catholic lay leaders are using their control of local communal assemblies to enforce religious traditions. In San Nicolas, angry Catholics recently used a backhoe to cut off Nicolasa Vargas’ water after she and her husband were absent from the fiesta honoring the village’s patron saint. In Chiapas, evangelical leaders say Mayan Catholics have forced thousands of families from their homes. Guillermo Cano wouldn’t help pay for music at the San Nicolas fiesta or partake of the food or drink, saying all that was against his religion. When he and other Pentecostal Christians bought land for a new church, local Catholic leaders blocked the road to the property with a bulldozer. Catholicism has defined life for centuries in countless villages across Mexico. Nine out of 10 Mexicans are Catholic, but the number of non-Catholics has increased in every census since 1970. (Religion Today/Los Angeles Times)

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UPDATE FOLLOWS ORIGINAL POSTING:

HEADLINE:       JAILED BEIJING PASTOR SECOND TRIAL VERDICT SET FOR NEXT TUESDAY

Source:            www.ChinaAid.org

Date:                December 15, 2005

CAA learned that pastor Cai’s case will have a new verdict at the second trial on December 20, Tuesday at the First People’s Intermediate Court of Bejing. The trial will be held at at 9:50am at Court Room No. 22.

According to reliable governmental source, before Cai’s first sentence, Cai was interrogated at almost 90 times by both the State Security Bureau and the Public Security Bureau. One sympathetic officer at Cai’s detention center told CAA that because of the heavy heavy handed interrogation (it was held at midnight every time), pastor Cai’s both legs were seen trembling whenever his name was called. According to Ms. Hu Jinyun, one of the convicted in this case, the four convicted were forced to sign their names in blank paper with different dates. Every time, a electric shock baton was used to threaten them.Both Cai’s mother and Ms. Hu had been under closely surveillance by about a dozen plain-clouthed police offers. They were cursed as “betrayer of the country’ because theu accepted interviews by overseas media. On December 6, Cai called his mother from Jail “rebuked” his mother urging her “not to make further noise fir his case”. It seemed Cai was forced to make that call.
The intermediate court this time did ask each of the convicted to have two family members to attend the trial.
  Ms. Hu Jinyun’s two attorneys Dr. Teng Biao and professor Wang Yi along with Mr. Zhang Xingshui as well as Mr. Gao Zhisheng will defend her and the case.
“The whole world will watch this case closely” said Bob Fu, ” This will be seen a litmus test on whether Chinese citizens are indeed having true religious freedom or not.”
UPDATE:
HEADLINE:       JAILED HOUSE CHURCH PASTOR SECOND TRIAL VERDICT REMAINED UNCHANGED

Source:            www.ChinaAid.org

Date:                December 21, 2005

CAA learned Tuesday, December 20th that Pastor Cai’s second trial had no new verdict. The judge in the First People’s Intermediate Court of Bejing, Court Room NO. 22, Mr. Bai Jun, annouced the final verdict that the appeal was rejected.

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HEADLINE:       BELARUS CRIMINALISES THE DISCREDITING OF LUKASHENKA REGIME

Source:            www.assistnews.net

Date:                December 21, 2005

By Elizabeth Kendal
World Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission (WEA RLC)
Special to ASSIST News Service

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (ANS) — On Friday 16 December, Belarus’ parliament voted unanimously to hold presidential elections on 19 March 2006, a full six months before President Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s mandate expires. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports, “That decision leaves potential candidates with far less time to prepare for the race. Hopefuls now have just three days (until 23 December) to meet the first requirement in the registration process– collecting the names of at least 100 supporters to form a nomination group. Those that manage to qualify for registration will be announced on 27 December. Then each group will have just four weeks (29 December-27 January) to gather at least 100,000 signatures needed for a candidate to be formally added to the ballot.” (Link 1)
In anticipation of the elections, Lukashenka has had Belarus’ Criminal Code amended to provide tough penalties for anyone convicted of spreading information that discredits the Republic of Belarus, and anyone convicted of training for or participating in political demonstrations. The new laws are designed to crush opposition and muzzle dissent against the regime of President Lukashenka as he prepares for the presidential elections. Of particular concern is the risk now faced by Christian individuals, churches and non-government organisation (NGOs) that report human rights abuses, including religious liberty repression and persecution. While the free world protests, Lukashenka bolsters himself with pledges of solidarity and assistance from China and Iran.

LAW AGAINST DISCREDITING THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS
The law against discrediting the Republic of Belarus is vague enough to enable the prosecution of anyone reporting negative information, including reports of religious persecution and repression.
The bill to amend the Criminal Code was marked “urgent” and handed to the parliament by President Lukashenka on 23 November. Within a month it had easily passed two readings in both the lower and upper chambers of parliament.
A press release from the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF) and the Belarusian Helsinki Committee (BHC) comments: “The vague wording of the proposed amendments pave the way to wide discretionary powers for authorities to interpret legitimate human rights activities as illegal attempts to discredit or harm the Belarusian state.
“Aaron Rhodes, Executive Director of the IHF said: ‘If adopted this law could be interpreted to render human rights monitoring and reporting as well as any kind of criticism of authorities illegal.'”
According to the IHF and BHC, the new article added to the Criminal Code on “Discrediting the Republic of Belarus” defines “discrediting” as “fraudulent representation of political, economic, social, military or international situation of the Republic of Belarus, the legal status of the citizens of the Republic of Belarus or its government agencies”. However, a “fraudulent representation” is likely to be defined as one that contradicts the official government representation. Anyone convicted of such a “crime against the state” may be punished “by arrest of up to six months or imprisonment of up to two years”. (Link2)
Kommersant reports, “The authorities do not hide it that the bill is timed for the next year’s presidential elections. Stepan Sukhorenko, deputy head of the country’s KGB, claims that the amendments aim to prevent a possible revolutionary change of power, given the experience of other CIS states: ‘We are facing a well-developed industry of the training of militants and revolutionists,’ he said.” Sukhorenko encourages those who are considering spreading negative information to foreign sources to “…read the law and think it over”. (Link 3)
Kommersant also notes, “The Soviet criminal code as of 1960 provided for criminal liability for criticism, discredit and contempt of state authorities. Article 70 on the Anti-Soviet Agitation and Propaganda, for example, envisaged a prison term of 5 to 25 years.”
MOVING TO LOCK-DOWN MODE
Another bill which has been passed in the lower house would, if passed in the upper house, require “Belarusian students to receive written permission from the Ministry of Education to study abroad if the length of stay is longer than 30 days. Foreign companies seeking to hire Belarusian students for summer jobs also would need ministry approval.” The bill is reportedly aimed at clamping down on human trafficking, but it will doubtless have dire consequences for students wanting to attend Western Universities, especially Protestant Christians seeking to pursue theological studies abroad. (Link 4)
Lukashenka is also restricting the movements of Belarus’ health care professionals on the grounds that he believes they hold state secrets. Health care professionals must now seek permission to travel outside the country, then report back upon their return and inform the authorities about their contacts with foreigners. State officials must also seek permission and register their trips abroad. (Link 5)
PLENTY OF FRIENDS
Leaders in the free world might not be impressed by Lukashenka’s draconian dictatorial policies, but that will not worry him for he has all the friends he needs.
On Monday 5 December, Lukashenka met with China’s President Hu Jintao in China’s Great Hall of the People. Lukashenka has found a friend in China, which has promised him economic aid and protection from accusations in authoritarianism. (Link 6)

In mid December, Iran’s parliamentary speaker Gholam Ali Haddad-Adel visited Minsk. Upon his return to Tehran Haddad-Adel described his meetings in Belarus as “remarkable”. In his meeting with Vladimir Konoplyov, the chairman of the Belarusian National Assembly’s Chamber of Representatives, Haddad-Adel reportedly said that Iran and Belarus needed to step up their cooperation in order to withstand outside pressure. “There are various groundless complaints against your country,” he said. “We are subject to pressure as well. I believe that independent countries like Belarus and Iran can counter intrigues against them more effectively through joint efforts.” Haddad-Adel said that Iran wants Belarus to be a powerful state, and so Iran will never tolerate international organisations putting pressure on Belarus. “Rather, we will help counter such attempts,” he said. (This is a deeply concerning statement and open to conjecture.) Lukashenka is planning to visit President Ahmadinejad in Tehran in the Spring of 2006 (presumably after he is re-“elected”). (Link 7)
Belarus already has Europe’s most repressive religion laws. However, there is room for things to get worse and all signs indicate that worse is on the way. Isolation, repression and persecution are set to escalate immediately and dramatically. Lukashenka clearly intends to hold on to power by manipulation, fraud and force. What’s more, this is bigger than Belarus. This is a wider fight for freedom between forces for and forces against; and no one knows how far either side is prepared to go. For the sake of religious liberty, peace and blessing in Belarus, the 19 March 2006 presidential election — its lead-up and its aftermath — must be a key prayer issue for the church worldwide.
Elizabeth Kendal
[email protected]
Links
1) Early Presidential Vote Likely Means Sparse Candidate List. 20 Dec 2005
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/12/0c068030-98a0-4f74-8002-ef6ea65dfb8d.html
Upcoming presidential election in Belarus likely to end with another national revolution. 19 Dec 2005  http://english.pravda.ru/world/20/92/370/16645_Belarus.html
2) Criminal prosecution for ‘Discrediting the Republic of Belarus’
IHF/Bulgarian Helsinki Committee Press release. 30 Nov 2005

http://www.ihf-hr.org/documents/doc_summary.php?sec_id=3&d_id=4164
3) Lukashenko’s Image to Be Kept Clean. 9 Dec 2005 http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp?idr=500&id=633850
Belarusian KGB: Foreign Mass Media Will be Left without Accreditation and Expelled from Belarus. 2 Dec 2005. http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2005/12/02/kgb
4) New Belarus Bill Restricts Online Dating. 16 Dec 2005http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/16/AR2005121600706.html
5) Lukashenka Bans Leaving Country for Health Professionals. 7 Dec 2005http://www.charter97.org/eng/news/2005/12/07/medik
6) Lukashenko Finds Comrades in China. 7 Dec 2005http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp?id=633044
7) Iran, Belarus to Combine Forces Against Western Pressure. 16 Dec 2005 http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/12/16/iranbelarus.shtml
Majlis Speaker back in Tehran from Russia, Belarus visits. 17 Dec 2005 http://www.irna.ir/en/news/view/line-17/0512179453103832.htm


China Aid Contacts
Rachel Ritchie, English Media Director
Cell: (432) 553-1080 | Office: 1+ (888) 889-7757 | Other: (432) 689-6985
Email: [email protected] 
Website: www.chinaaid.org

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