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* 16 MAY 1998 IN THIS EDITION: JN195-1. Pakistan erupts in protest over blasphemy law JN195-2. Prayer calendar for sensitive areas JN195-3. Barna survey: Teens expect Internet to replace traditional church ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- JN195-1. Pakistan erupts in protest over blasphemy law Editorial note: The situation in Pakistan is getting critical. Yesterday the police arrested Church leaders, like Catholic and Anglican bishops, all over the country to prevent them from leading actions today. Today, Friday 15th May, is called to be a national day of prayer and fasting on which also protest marches take place. Some Christians announced that they will burn themselves publicly out of protest. Many believers are afraid of violent counter-attacks by militant muslims. CATHOLIC BISHOP'S FUNERAL IGNITES VOLATILE NATIONAL DEBATE Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 ISTANBUL, May 14 (Compass) -- The Pakistan government began posting police guards around the nation's churches Tuesday, beefing up security as a week-long storm of protest intensified around its two million Christians. Meanwhile the tiny Christian minority, living among 135 million Muslims, prepared for tomorrow's nationwide day of prayer and fasting, called by church leaders to oppose the nation's harsh blasphemy laws. All church schools and other institutions will be closed. Christians will stay home from their jobs, and many will stream to their churches to pray. "I think that prayer is all that they are left with now," a Muslim human rights activist told Compass yesterday from Lahore. "There is nothing else anybody can do." More than 70 percent of Pakistan's Christians come from the very poorest levels of society. But the entire community has been thrust into an explosive public debate ignited by the apparent suicide of Dr. John Joseph, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Faisalabad. According to church sources, Bishop Joseph, 66, killed himself on Wednesday of last week to protest a recent court verdict sentencing Christian defendant Ayub Masih to death for alleged blasphemy. The bishop had been an outspoken champion of dozens of Pakistani Christians victimized on false blasphemy charges since the death penalty was made mandatory in 1990 for slandering the prophet Mohammed. In an outpouring of grief, thousands of local Christians converged on the scene, wept and consoled each other outside the Sahiwal courthouse where he died and then followed his body to his home village of Khushpur. After Friday's emotional memorial service in Khushpur, most mourners joined the 25-mile trek to Faisalabad accompanying the bishop's coffin. By the time the cortege arrived at Faisalabad's St. Peter and St. Paul Catholic Cathedral, the crowds had swollen beyond 10,000 people. Their mood had also swung from grief to outrage. Waving banners and placards, the mourners chanted slogans along the way: "End persecution of Christians! Repeal the blasphemy laws! Stop the repression of religious minorities!" Beating their chests, many repeated the words of an Urdu-language banner waving above them: "Bishop, your blood will bring a revolution!" Violence broke out as the procession met a large police contingent surrounding the cathedral. Although under specific orders to fire overhead, several police shot into the crowd, wounding three mourners. During the turmoil that spread through the city, Christian Ranjha Masih was arrested and charged with blasphemy for "insulting the Muslim statement of faith." The 50-year-old man reportedly threw a stone that hit an Islamic inscription painted over a shop. Tensions heightened further the next day, when Muslim clerics began to use mosque loudspeakers to denounce local Christians for "insulting Islam" during the fracas on Friday, naming Ranjha Masih as the culprit. By the time Sunday's funeral began, Faisalabad was strapped under heavy law and order controls. Mourners converged on the cathedral in more than 30 solemn processions, to be met by armed Christian volunteers manning the gates. Once inside the courtyard, they eyed a growing mob of Muslim extremists, assembling with sticks and bricks a few yards away. Shouting slogans supporting the blasphemy laws, Muslim rowdies loudly demanded the immediate execution of Ayub Masih. During the funeral service, "The whole city remained in the grip of fear and tension," an eyewitness said. Catholic Archbishop Armando Trinidad and Church of Pakistan Bishop Alexander John Malik, both of Lahore, asked mourners to set aside Friday, May 15, in memory of Bishop Joseph, to make a peaceful, prayerful protest against the blasphemy laws across the nation. Before the funeral crowds had dispersed, Muslim mobs were setting ablaze homes and shops in the Christian Town district of the city, leaving 15 Christians injured. One young mother whose home was left in ashes said that the extremists had threatened to burn her children alive. A man whose home was doused in kerosene and set afire declared, "They even took my Bible and set it on fire." Several Christian leaders, including a former state minister, were arrested before the day was over. Notably, no government representative attended the funeral. "That tells a lot about the government's commitment to religious minorities," said Peter Jacob of the Justice and Peace Commission founded and chaired by Bishop Joseph. Authorities in Islamabad, the capital, also clamped a news blackout on the bishop's death over state-controlled radio and television for several days. The next day, Faisalabad's Islamist groups ordered a general strike that again paralyzed the city. Muslim mobs attacked the Christian Town and Warispura districts where 50,000 Christians live. One unruly group ransacked and looted the home of Ranjha Masih. Riot police in the city fired teargas in all eight bazaars of the city in order to disperse violent demonstrators and remove barricades blocking main roads. It was not until Tuesday that Faisalabad "limped back to normalcy," as a "Dawn" newspaper headline put it. After the last reported attack Monday night, when police held off a mob attack against the Malkhanwala Church, the city's offices and markets reopened the next day. However, local Christians were still reluctant on Wednesday to leave their homes, according to the Pakistani press. Meanwhile, Christians marshaled demonstrations in other major cities, including Karachi, Hyderabad, Rawalpindi and Multan. Some 26 Christians were reported put under police arrest at the Multan incident, and violence broke out in the Karachi procession when Christian youths pelted shops and cars with stones. Although Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif belatedly expressed his condolences for Bishop Joseph's death, urging Pakistani citizens to "show tolerance" for each other's religious beliefs, one of his closest assistants, legislator Ejaz ul-Haq, told the press, "Even if 100,000 Christians sacrifice their lives, the blasphemy law will not be repealed." Other government leaders, from President Mohammed Rafiq Tarar on down, echoed ul-Haq's words. Addressing a Lahore press conference two days ago, Bishop Malik described the hated "black laws" as "license to harass, enslave and eliminate minorities and legalize religious persecution." But Raja Zafarul Haq, Federal Minister for Religious Affairs, insists that the blasphemy laws in fact help protect the country's minorities. "Demands for scrapping the law stem from ignorance about the consequences of the same," Haq said. "If it was [repealed] ... the law of the jungle will prevail in the country." Extremist Muslim groups have threatened to bring down Sharif's government if he dares to repeal or even amend these laws. Source: Compass Direct DEATH SENTENCE SUSPENDED FOR PAKISTANI CHRISTIAN AYOOB MASIH Date: Fri, 15 May 1998 Reuters news service reported today that Pakistani Christian Ayoob Masih has had his death sentence suspended by the Lahore High Court pending the completion of his appeal. This comes after an outpouring of protest from around the world in response to Masih's sentence, which originally was scheduled to be carried out this week. Voice of the Martyrs U.S. Director Tom White says that even with this victory, Ayoob is not out of danger. In the past, Pakistani Christians have been shot leaving the courthouse after winning court-room victories. That is what happened in 1994 to Pakistani Christian Manzoor Masih, according to VOM's August, 1994 newsletter. Manzoor was released by the court but then shot by Islamic extremists while leaving the courthouse. Ayoob Masih has already suffered an attempt on his life on the way to a court hearing. Since that time, all hearings on the matter have taken place in the Sahiwal Central Jail where he was being held. An Islamic priest issued a fatwah (Islamic decree) earlier this year that the man who kills Ayoob will be awarded the equivalent of $10,000 US, according to VOM's May, 1998 newsletter. Christians are encouraged to continue the barrage of calls, faxes and letters to Pakistani officials at the embassy in Washington DC and to the Pakistani mission to the United Nations to protest the sentence. Voice of the Martyrs originally reported on Ayoob Masih's case in its May 1997 newsletter. He was arrested on October 14, 1996 after allegedly speaking against Mohammed and Islam. He and brother Samsoon were attacked and beaten by a mob of Islamic radicals, then taken to jail. Samsoon was released shortly after, but Ayoob has remained incarcerated ever since. Pakistan has been in turmoil since last week's apparent suicide by Catholic Bishop John Joseph in protest over Ayoob's sentence. Joseph reportedly shot himself in front of the Sahiwal courthouse as a protest, although some reports coming out of Pakistan are that he was murdered. Since that time, Pakistani police have had to hold off a mostly-Islamic mob from attacking Christian targets, including the church where Joseph was buried. Source: Voice of the Martyrs ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- JN195-2. Prayer calendar for sensitive areas Date: Mon, 13 Apr 1998 From: "Roger E. Doriot" <rogerdoriot@xc.org> I really appreciated the news and prayer info in Joel News International that we just received. I think a very vital area to pray for is the spread of the Gospel in very restricted, sensitive areas. Since they often cannot give out info, there is less specific prayer for them. Because of that, I developed the following prayer calendar to help people pray more specifically for all of the people and places in such a situation. You are welcome to use it as the Lord leads. Prayer requests for restricted access/sensitive areas (areas where news of what is happening, if spread openly, can cause danger, hardships, or lost opportunities) Day of month - Prayer request for that day 01 Special needs today that cannot be shared; God's working even where no one else knows the need 02 Maintenance of necessary secrecy in working in these areas; provision of safe places/facilities for believers to meet for worship, Bible study and training 03 Encouragement, strength for imprisoned, persecuted believers; provision for needs of families of imprisoned believers; release from imprisonment as God wills 04 Blinding of eyes of government officials, censors, others, when necessary to protect believers and Christian workers 05 Dissatisfaction with false religious traditions; taking away of spiritual blindness, bringing responsiveness; willingness to change belief systems 06 Wisdom on dissemination of information, prayer requests; protection from unwise distribution of info by well-meaning persons; faithful, efficient, and wide-spread dissemination of info that can and should be shared 07 Emotional needs of Christian workers, dealing with loneliness, family separations, stress from living in sensitive and dangerous situations 08 Changing of attitudes of government, opposing religious leaders, et al; opening eyes to truth among those in opposition; conviction brought on persecutors and prosecutors; political stability in these areas; good interpersonal relationships with local officials as much as possible 09 Training materials and training in Bible, theology, and leadership be available and accessible for pastors and church leaders in these areas 10 Financial needs for ministries; indigenization - national churches and ministries becoming self-supporting as soon as possible and advisable 11 The breaking down of religious "curtains" (as God broke down the "iron curtain"); breaking of the spiritual bondage, deliverance from blindness and misunderstandings - for areas, people groups, and individuals; visitations from God - dreams, visions, or whatever - to key religious leaders and other unbelievers, as God wills 12 Faithfulness in prayer even without specific details of needs and victories, by those who are supporting those in sensitive areas; many more intercessors to enter the battle to take back territory from Satan for the Lord God; the Holy Spirit's directing and burdening of hearts to pray for particular persons, places, situations in time of need 13 Calling of more creative cross-cultural workers for these difficult areas; heeding of the call by those called - victory over fear, doubt, attraction of materialism, etc. 14 Wisdom to know most effective approaches; revelation to see the specific opportunities and methods that will be effective in pulling down the strongholds that support the core false belief systems 15 Penetration with the Gospel - light to replace darkness - by radio, TV, tapes, videos, e-mail, Internet, and every possible means; wise use of satellites and newest technology to such areas 16 Raising up of national leaders, pastors, evangelists - many more workers soon for the most needy areas, even though dangerous; spiritual and moral integrity of national church and ministry leaders 17 Faith, boldness, and courage, tempered with wisdom and tact, for both national believers and Christian workers 18 True conversions of multitudes, raising up of great numbers of courageous believers from every sensitive area 19 Implementation of constitutional guarantees for freedom of religion; exposure of, and various pressures brought to bear on, those restricting religion illegally and unfairly 20 Establishment of many strong local churches; overcoming of suspicion, distrust among national believers; wise, efficient assistance to national believers, leaders, and organizations 21 Careful and strategic distribution and use of Scripture, and other Christian literature; overcoming of fear and distrust of Christian literature; strong growing desire by many to know the truth; truth to be revealed by the Holy Spirit as Scripture and other Christian materials are received 22 Translation of Scripture soon for language groups without it; protection for translation teams; ability to put key Scriptural concepts into accurate and understandable terms (both for translators and for those evangelizing and teaching) 23 Harmonious relationships, spiritual unity, and good cooperation - 1) among ex-pats, especially in multi-cultural co-worker situations, 2) among national believers, and 3) between ex-pats/missions and national believers, leaders, and organizations; avoidance or overcoming of misunderstandings 24 Language learning and understanding of host cultures; development of fluency in speaking, and ability to communicate well 25 Faithfulness in personal spiritual disciplines by Christian workers; maintaining quality time and vital personal relationship with the Lord; Biblical Spirit-directed attitudes and actions 26 Protection for family units of missionary families; children's needs met for education and nurture; special needs of single missionaries 27 Victory over fear and discouragement, and recognition of Satan's lies and deceptions; eyes to see what God is doing, to be encouraged; strength and perseverance in the daily spiritual battles that come 28 Ineffectiveness, defeat, or dissolution of anti-Christian groups, organizations, and propaganda; protection from "traitors," informers against Christian workers and national believers 29 Spiritual growth of "secret believers," courage and wisdom to know what and when to speak, when not to speak, and when to make open confessions of faith 30 Physical, medical, health needs of Christian workers and families 31 Rest and encouragement for continuing the task while on furlough; safety in travel, at home, on the field, and in between Source: Joel News ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- JN195-3. Barna survey: Teens expect Internet to replace traditional church Date: Fri, 1 May 1998 From: NewsDesk <ChristianNet@ccis.org.uk> A recent survey of American teenagers by the Barna Research Group underscores the increasing use of the Internet for religious purposes among young people. One out of six teens (16%) say that within the next five years they expect to use the Internet as a substitute for their current church-based religious experience. Significantly, this notion is most common among teenagers who currently attend church regularly. While that may seem outrageous, a recent Barna Research survey of adults finds that 12% of the adult population is already using the Internet for religious purposes. The most common of those purposes is to interact with others through chat rooms or e-mail about religious ideas, beliefs or experiences. George Barna, president of the company conducting the surveys, explains, "Our research indicates that by 2010 we will probably have 10% to 20% of the population relying primarily or exclusively upon the Internet for its religious input. Those people will never set foot on a church campus because their religious and spiritual needs will be met through other means -- including the Internet. Whether or not the cyberchurch is a 'true' church may not be as pressing an issue as what current church leaders will do about the inevitable gravitation of tens of millions of people away from the existing church and how they can help to shape this emerging church form." Barna continues, "The discomfort of today's church leaders with the cyberchurch is not surprising. When Willow Creek Community Church popularized the "seeker church" format in the late '70s and early '80s, the mainstream of the church community rejected the approach as an invalid and nonviable form of church, an inauthentic expression of biblical faith. The cyberchurch will receive the same treatment from today's church leaders." Barna also points out that the proportion of young people currently using the Internet for faith purposes is underestimated. "A large proportion of teenagers use the Internet for conversation with others. A substantial number of cyber-chatters engage in dialogue related to faith, spirituality, religion, meaning and truth -- the very types of conversations that are often initiated or fostered by churches. Teens don't think of those conversations as religious expression, but the sense of community and the spiritual beliefs fostered by such dialogue on spiritual matters is identical to what the traditional church seeks to create within its congregation." Barna notes, "This new research supports our contention that the structure of the American church is already undergoing radical change. If you add up the proportion of people who will call the cyberchurch their 'church home,' those who will align with an independent house church and individuals who will be steadfastly unchurched, within the next 15 years a majority of Americans will be completely isolated from the traditional church format." Barna concludes, "Some of the new forms of the church allow for greater diversity of audience and faith expression. However, because of their independence from any forms of spiritual accountability, they also open the door for rampant theological heresy. The biggest question facing current Christian leaders is not how to stop the development of the new forms of the church; such efforts would not succeed and could merely ignite the growth of those forms. Rather, the challenge is to determine how to ensure that those forms are tuned in to the foundational theology and principles that reflect the basis of the existing church." The study is based on data collected in two national telephone surveys: one of 620 teens, the other of 1006 adults. Sampling error is plus or minus four percentage points for the teen survey and plus or minus three percentage points for the adult survey, at the 95% confidence level. Source: Evangelical Press News Service <editor@epnews.com>, Zondervan News Service, ChristianNet |
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