Pakistan: Christian Slave Freed after Ransom is Paid
A Christian man who was essentially living as a slave in Pakistan has been freed after a Christian organization intervened. Christian Today reports that Salim Masih was in servitude as a brick kiln worker. He was subjected to torture and lived as though he was a slave. Although slavery is illegal in Pakistan, Christians are often forced into such a life. Masih was reportedly freed after the British Pakistani Christian Association intervened and paid a ransom to secure his release. The organization says it tries to refrain from paying ransom to the captors, but Masih’s case called for swift action. “Though British Pakistani Christian Association is loathe to pay brick kiln owners for the emancipation of slaves which a practice which perpetuates despite being outlawed, we realised we had no option in this instance if we were to save the life of Salim,” read a press statement from the BPCA. Masih praised God for helping him escape: “When the men discovered an NGO had got involved the violence increased and I thought I would be killed. But somehow God saved my life I owe Him everything.” Christians often face discrimination and persecution in Pakistan. The country ranks fourth on Open World Watch List of countries where Christian persecution is most severe.
Christian Killed in Islamic Extremists Attack in Northeastern Kenya
Al Shabaab militants are suspected in the killing of two people, at least one a Christian, in a May 12 gun attack in northeastern Kenya, sources said. Five suspected rebels from the Somali Islamic extremist group targeted non-Muslim quarry workers in El Wak, near the Somali border in Kenya’s North Eastern Province, in the early morning at the workers’ company-owned quarters, a Christian leader told Morning Star News. He said quarry worker Dalama Otieno, a member of an area East African Pentecostal Church congregation, died from gunshot wounds to the head. An area resident told Morning Star News that the assailants used a jihadist slogan during the assault. “I heard them say, ‘Allah Akbar [God is Greater]’, and then followed gunshots,” he said. A second worker, unidentified at this writing but assumed to be a non-Muslim Kenyan like nearly all the quarry employees, died of gunshot wounds to the chest, the Christian leader said. Predominantly Christian workers from Kenya’s interior have been targeted in a series of Al Shabaab attacks that have shaken Christian communities in Kenya’s northeast. Area residents reported seeing unfamiliar visitors in El Wak the night before the attack. “We have warned our church members to leave the volatile area, which has been a black spot prone to Al Shabaab attacks,” the Christian leader told Morning Star News. “This is the area that led to the massacre of 28 teachers a few years ago.” Rebels from Al Shabaab, which is allied with Al Qaeda, have launched several attacks in northeast Kenya since Kenyan forces led an African coalition into Somalia against the rebels in October 2011 in response to terrorist attacks on tourists and others on Kenya’s coast. “These Al Shabbab militants have made some of our Christians to be their scapegoats, as they see Kenya as a Christian country that is fighting to rid Al Shabaab from Somalia,” the Christian leader said. El Wak is a key supply line to the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces that have retaken territory from Al Shabaab insurgents in Somalia. The jihadist rebels have retaliated with attacks on Kenya’s northeast. Al Shabaab is suspected of killing administrative chief Dekow Abbey Sirat and abducting two police reservists on Monday night (May 15) in the Omar Jillo area, near Mandera, and planting an explosive device that killed four people when their vehicle ran over it in Liboi on March 16. El Wak is about 160 kilometers (105 miles) from Mandera. “The Christians living in Mandera are living in great fear of an imminent attack from the Al Shabaab,” the church leader said. “I think we have to think whether to continue with the Christian mission work or to leave the place. We cannot pretend that all is well.”
Kenya ranks 18th on Open Doors’ 2017 World Watch List of the 50 countries where it is most difficult to be a Christian.
On Oct. 25, 2016, Islamic extremists targeted Christians in the shooting deaths of 12 non-local Kenyans at a guest-house in Mandera. Al Shabaab rebels took responsibility for the pre-dawn attack on the guest-house, where a Kenyan theatre troupe from outside the area was staying, according to the militants’ radio affiliate. An area pastor told Morning Star News that Christians were targeted. “The attackers knew exactly whom they were attacking, that is, the Christians,” he said, adding that survivors told him the assailants were shouting, “Get rid of these infidel actors.”
The theatre group was made up of university students who reportedly travelled to the mainly Muslim area of Mandera to perform plays in local schools. Suspected Al Shabaab militants targeted Christians in a grenade and gun attack in the early morning of Oct. 6, 2016 that killed six people. Al Shabaab reportedly took responsibility for the attack at a residential compound in Mandera, with a spokesman for the militants saying it was designed to drive Christians from the area. At least one of the victims was reportedly a Muslim. The attack in Mandera, tucked in Kenya’s northeast corner near the Somali border, reportedly wounded several others. Among 27 people rescued were Christians who said the assailants shouted that Mandera was Muslim territory and that “infidels” should leave it. The pastor of an area church told Morning Star News that two members of his congregation were among those killed. On Jan. 31, 2016, in a pre-dawn raid on a predominantly Christian area in coastal Kenya, Al Shabaab rebels on Jan. 31 killed at least four Christians, beheading one of them. An attack on a bus and a truck near Mandera by Al Shabaab insurgents took the lives of two Christians in December 2015, and on July 7, 2015, Al Shabaab killed 17 quarry workers near Mandera, including several Christians. On Dec. 2, 2014, Al Shabaab killed 36 non-Muslims, most of them Christian, in an attack on quarry workers near Mandera. The killings came after a Nov. 22, 2014 assault by Somali insurgents in the same area that left 28 non-Muslims dead, including 19 Christians. Al Shabaab claimed responsibility for the Dec. 2 massacre, calling it vengeance for police raids on mosques in Kenya and Kenyan military involvement in displacing the Islamic extremist militants from Somalia. Prior to the Nov. 22 attack, police raided and closed four mosques in Mombasa that they said were recruitment centers for Islamic terrorists.
Report: Attack on Indian Christians Occurs Every 40 Hours
Violent attacks on Christians in India are increasing, according to a new report. The report from the All India Christian Council says that there is an anti-Christian attack every 40 hours as the governing Hindu nationalist party tries to create a “Hindu nation” in India. In 2016, attacks against Christians jumped by about 20 percent, while physical violence is up about 40 percent. "The attacks have become severe and more frequent. Incidents used to be confined to a few states. Now the violence has spread to 23 states," the report said. The attacks are described as physical beating, torching of churches, vandalism, burning of Bibles, death threats and forcing Christians to renounce their faith and convert to Hinduism.
Earlier this month, the Hindu Yuva Vahini, a rightwing young organization, forced police to stop a Christian prayer meeting in Uttar Pradesh. The group complained that the prayer meeting of more than 150 people was aimed at converting people to Christianity. In February, an evangelist in India reportedly fell into a coma after he was harassed by Hindu nationalists for publicly distributing copies of the New Testament. The group threatened to burn him alive, asking him if “Jesus will save you from the flames.” Attacks have increased since the Hindu national Bharatiya Janata Party won the national election in 2014. The party believes in the Hindutva idealogy, where Hindus dominate India.
Christianity Growing in North Korea Despite Persecution, Defector Says
North Korea is the number one country for most severe persecution of Christians, according to Open Doors 2017 World Watch List, but despite the extreme persecution Christians there face, the church is growing, reports a North Korean defector. The Christian Post reports that Kim Chung-seong was able to escape North Korea right before he was to be killed. He now lives in South Korea and is involved in missions work. "The one thing that the North Korean regime fears the most, and is afraid of, is the spreading of the Gospel," he said Friday while attending the first annual World Summit in Defense of Persecuted Christians in Washington, D.C. "Because the Bible and the Gospel speaks the truth. Once the light shines in the dark room, there is light in the room." "They (the government) will do anything to prevent the spread of the Gospel in North Korea. [But] as you can see, we cannot block the sunlight with our hand," he continued. He said that Christians in North Korea are forced to hide their faith from the government and sometimes even from their own families in order to avoid persecution. Surveillance is ever-present and Christians need to be careful not to look like they are praying or engaging in other forms of religious activity.
"Worship of the ruling Kim family is mandated for all citizens, and those who don't comply (including Christians) are arrested, imprisoned, tortured or killed. Entire Christian families are imprisoned in hard labor camps, where unknown numbers die each year from torture, beatings, overexertion and starvation. Those who attempt to flee to South Korea through China risk execution or life imprisonment, and those who stay behind often fare no better," says a report from Christian persecution charity Open Doors. But despite these obstacles, there are an estimated 300,000 Christians in North Korea. Part of Kim’s ministry involves broadcasting the Gospel message, Christians music, and world news into the country to reach his countrymen.
1,000 Candlelight Vigils to be Held for Imprisoned Jakarta Christian Governor
Rallies are being staged all across Indonesia after the arrest and conviction of Jakarta’s governor, Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama. Ahok was convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to two years in prison for insulting the Islamic faith, according to The Christian Post. His arrest, however, has prompted rallies as people are calling for his release because they believe the ruling is unjust and that Ahok’s arrest was a violation of his free speech. The Jakarta Post is reporting that about 1,000 places are planning candlelight vigils in support of Ahok in various parts of the country and abroad.
Supporters are also trying to collect signature and copies of ID cards to secure suspension of Ahok’s detention. Supporters need 10,000 guarantors ID cards, according to reports, the group has about 9,000 Indonesian guarantors. Ahok was charged for using a Quranic verse in his re-election campaign in September. Opponents of Ahok had used the same verse to argue that Muslims should not choose a non-Muslim to lead them. Ahok said his opponents had used the verse to trick people into voting against him. His speech which included the verse was posted online in an edited and video and soon went viral. Protests were started, including one that drew about half a million people.
your salvation is a pagan one and exists in all false religions. As it was once put very succinctly, every other religion says, “do, do, do”. Christianity is the only one that says, “done”. The sacrifice of Christ was a one time only event that is completely sufficient for the atonement of sins. Jesus is now victorious over death and salvation comes by faith alone. Satan would rather see Jesus being perpetually and endlessly punished however and hence these continuing representations of Christ on the cross. Satan is clinging hopelessly to the past and enslaving humanity with works based religion which always either leads to feelings of pride or worthlessness, and both are as bad as each other.
The name “Vatican” actually means “The Divining Serpent” and comes from the Latin “vatis” which means “diviner” and “can” which means “serpent”. The word and act of “celibacy” comes from the name of a Roman pagan goddess, Cybele and has no Biblical basis. The letters “IHS” are common in Catholicism and although the official line is that they stand for “Iesus Hominum Salvator” which means “Jesus Saviour of Men” it also happens to the be the initials for an Egyptian form of the unholy trinity, Isis, Horus and Seb.