| 1. Where is the United States in Prophecy? The Next Banking Bomb?
“This bill will, in my judgment, raise the likelihood of future massive taxpayer bailouts. …if you want to gamble, go to Las Vegas. If you want to trade in derivatives, God bless you.” That was North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan’s statement on the floor of the Senate - not this week or last, or even during the last six months as Wall Street collapsed - but back in 1999. Four years later in a letter to shareholders, billionaire investor Warren Buffett followed with his own warning, calling derivatives “weapons of financial mass destruction” controlled by “madmen.” While financial experts were concerned with the housing bubble and mortgage-backed securities, Dorgan and Buffett were focused on what many now believe may be the next big shoe to drop - the credit derivatives market, better known as credit default swaps. What worries financial insiders most is the $54.6 trillion of risky credit derivatives concentrated among the few banks left standing. Credit default swaps (CDS) are the cornerstone of the credit derivatives market accounting for more than 98 percent of all credit derivatives. They are difficult to understand, ignored by regulators and poorly reported on balance sheets. In simplest terms, CDS are insurance policies on things like bonds, loans and corporate debt. But there are two big differences: the seller of a CDS doesn’t need to have the money to cover losses if the security defaults, and the buyer doesn’t need to own the asset it wants to protect. It’s as if hundreds of people could buy insurance policies on houses they didn’t own yet still collect the full value if it burns down. The danger comes when the company defaults and the seller - because he’s not required to - doesn’t have the money to pay out on the default. As more corporations default and banks find out they can’t make good on their contracts, a new round of losses for funds and financial firms could result and make the recent losses in mortgage-backed securities seem miniscule by comparison................. read more Credit Card Terms Taking Turns For Worse
The impact of ultra-tight credit markets is hitting your credit cards, and you might not even realize it. Lenders are tightening terms in numerous ways, and you need to be aware of all of them to avoid possible trouble down the road. Behind the changes is the simple fact that lenders want to protect themselves from bad debt, so they're tightening standards and practices in hopes of avoiding defaults by credit card users. What are they up to? Lower Credit Limits - This is the biggest and perhaps most ominous change of all -- and something many consumers won't realize has happened to them until it's too late. Here's what's scary: You don't have to "mess up" in order for a company to lower your credit limit. Big companies such as American Express, Bank of America and others say they can and will change terms at any time, based on market conditions and the economy in general. Any "perceived risk" can also lower your limit. That includes a decline in credit scores or late payments on other bills. How much are credit limits being cut? In some cases, the cuts are big, Some companies are lowering the limit to right above your balance, and as the balance drops (meaning, as you pay off your debt), the credit limit drops, too. That makes it very easy to exceed your credit limit. Mess up once and that's it, you're out of luck. Banks won't hesitate to increase your interest rate or impose big fees if you pay late, etc. It used to be that if you were a good customer, you could call and basically apologize, explain your mistake, and ask that the fee be removed or your rate re-adjusted. But no longer. Card companies are holding firm to their punishments, and no amount of cajoling will change their minds.................. read more
2. Israel - God's Timepiece Jesse Jackson: Under Obama 'decades of putting Israel's interests first' would end...
Prepare for a new America: That's the message that the Rev. Jesse Jackson conveyed to participants in the first World Policy Forum, held at this French lakeside resort last week.He promised "fundamental changes" in US foreign policy - saying America must "heal wounds" it has caused to other nations. The most important change would occur in the Middle East, where "decades of putting Israel's interests first" would end. Jackson believes that, although "Zionists who have controlled American policy for decades" remain strong, they'll lose a great deal of their clout when Barack Obama enters the White House. "Obama is about change," Jackson told me in a wide-ranging conversation. "And the change that Obama promises is not limited to what we do in America itself. It is a change of the way America looks at the world and its place in it." Jackson is especially critical of President Bush's approach to the Israel-Palestine conflict. "Bush was so afraid of a snafu and of upsetting Israel that he gave the whole thing a miss," Jackson says. "Barack will change that," because, as long as the Palestinians haven't seen justice, the Middle East will "remain a source of danger to us all." "Barack is determined to repair our relations with the world of Islam and Muslims," Jackson says. "Thanks to his background and ecumenical approach, he knows how Muslims feel while remaining committed to his own faith.".................. read more Hamas-Fatah tensions rising as Abbas' last day as Palestinian Authority president nears
The nearing end of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' tenure has the defense establishment on edge, as it has formed a joined team with the Shin Bet and the Foreign Ministry to prepare for January 9 – Abbas' last day as Palestinian Authority president. The main concern is intelligence indicating that Hamas' military wing may begin targeting senior Fatah and Palestinian security officials via abductions and assassination attempts. The general consensus within the Israeli defense establishment is that if the Palestinian Authority and Hamas fail to reach an understanding about postponing the presidential elections – thus extending Abbas' tenure – Hamas may try to inflame the area by targeting PA officials. Fatah members are said to be extremely vigilant already, following the Palestinian security forces' intense activity against Hamas infrastructure in the West Bank. Hamas is said to be concerned about a joint PA-Israel operation, which resulted in the shutting down of over 100 Hamas-affiliated institutions, which funnel money to the organizations................... read more Livni steps closer to Israeli leadership
Tzipi Livni on Tuesday moved one step closer to becoming the next prime minister of Israel, after she finally secured a pledge from her party’s biggest coalition ally to stay in the government and support her bid for the leadership. Ms Livni, who currently serves as foreign minister, won the race to succeed Ehud Olmert as prime minister and head of the governing Kadima party in an internal primary last month. But she has faced an uphill battle in the weeks since to hold together the fractious government coalition assembled by Mr Olmert, who is stepping down to fight corruption allegations. The breakthrough came on Tuesday, when the centre-left Labour party under Ehud Barak, the defence minister and himself a former prime minister, agreed to sign a new coalition agreement. Together Kadima and Labour have 48 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. They would need a further 13 seats to give them an overall majority. If Ms Livni can now also persuade the ultra-orthodox religious Shas party to stay on board, she will have enough votes in the Israeli parliament to become Israel’s second female prime minister after Golda Meir more than 30 years ago. The deal with Labour came after a marathon negotiating session lasting 17 hours, Israeli media reported. It will see Mr Barak elevated to the post of “senior” deputy prime minister, marking him out as the highest-ranking government member behind Ms Livni. He will also be handed an unspecified role in the current peace negotiations with Syria, which were launched by Mr Olmert earlier this year. The agreement reflects the desire of both parties to avoid an early election, which polls suggest would usher in a right-wing government under Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the Likud party and another former prime minister................... read more
4. The Gog/Magog War Russia moves into the Mediterranean with Syrian presence
Few could fail to wonder about the foreign sailors dockside and the grey warship dominating a harbor that was once a trading hub of the Phoenician empire and is now the centre of a new projection of power, this time by Syria's old ally Russia. Tartous is being dredged and renovated to provide a permanent facility for the Russian navy, giving Moscow a key military foothold in the Mediterranean at a time when Russia's invasion of Georgia has led to fears of a new cold war. The bolstering of military ties between Russia and Syria has also worried Israel, whose prime minister, Ehud Olmert, was in Moscow yesterday seeking to persuade the Russian president, Igor Belyaev, Russia's charge d'affaires in Damascus, recently told reporters that his country would increase its presence in the Mediterranean and that "Russian vessels will be visiting Syria and other friendly ports more frequently". With the Ukraine threatening to expel Russia's Black sea fleet from its base in Sebastopol, the only route for the Russian navy into the Mediterranean, military cooperation between Moscow and Damascus appears to have taken on a new zeal. ................. read more U.S. report: Russia has upgraded strategic nukes
A Pentagon and Energy Department report recently sounded the alarm about Russia’s expanding strategic nuclear forces funded by profits from its energy resources. Using profits from oil and natural gas resources, Russia is building up its strategic nuclear forces, including several new missiles and delivery systems. The report notes that unlike the United States, Russia maintains a fully functional nuclear weapons design, development, test and manufacturing infrastructure capable of producing significant quantities of nuclear warheads per year. “For a variety of reasons, Russia has explicitly placed increased emphasis on nuclear weapons in its national security policy and military doctrine, and has re-incorporated theater nuclear options into its military planning,” the report said. The report, made public after Russian forces invaded Georgia in August, said “considerable uncertainty remains about Russia’s future course.”.. ................. read more Relations Between Turkey and Arab Countries Enter New Era
The inaugural meeting of foreign ministers between Arab nations and Turkey convened in the largest Turkish city of Istanbul on Saturday, marking the launch of the Turkish-Arab Cooperation Forum. The establishment of such a new cooperation mechanism between Turkey and Arab countries ushered in a new era of constructive bilateral ties, politicians and analysts said. A joint statement issued after the meeting said the participants believed establishment of the forum "will further expand and deepen the relations in all fields between Turkey and the Arab countries by providing an institutional framework to promote cooperation and comprehensive consultations in all fields of mutual trust." Mohamed Ahmed Hassan Ahmed, Charge d'Affaires of the Sudanese embassy in Turkey, told Xinhua that he believed the meeting signals a "new era" of relations between Arab countries and Turkey, noting that the establishment of such a cooperation mechanism will be "fruitful. As a pivotal regional power, Turkey's active participation in the Middle East peace process, especially in mediating indirect talks between Syria and Israel, would help solve these chronic issues, he said. Asked about reasons driving Ankara to reach out to the Arab world, Ahmed said after the cold war, Turkey, faced by globalization, inevitably wants to boost its political and economic clout in the Middle East. "Turkey really wants a good and big relationship with Arab countries," he said.. ................. read more
6. The Rise of Islam Replace capitalism with Islamic financial system: cleric
Muslims should take advantage of the global financial crisis to build an economic system compatible with Islamic principles, influential Sunni cleric Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi said this week. "The collapse of the capitalist system based on usury and paper and not on goods traded on the market is proof that it is in crisis and shows that Islamic economic philosophy is holding up," said the Egyptian-born, Qatar-based cleric. "The Western system has collapsed and we have a complete economic philosophy as well as spiritual strength," he said at Sunday's opening of a conference on Jerusalem. "All riches are ours... the Islamic nation has all or nearly all the oil and we have an economic philosophy that no one else has," Qaradawi said. He urged Muslims to "profit from the crisis to bring about the triumph of the Islamic nation, which holds the spiritual and material resources for victory."................ read more Islam's Legal Jihad
Have you seen the little old lady who passes out Jehovah's Witness literature in your neighborhood? Some people stop and show interest. Others roll their eyes, and keep walking. But, would you ever expect anyone to threaten her? Call her a racist, and try to get her arrested? Islamists would. And that is exactly what happened to two English Christian ministers who had the nerve to proselytize on a street corner in a predominantly Muslim immigrant area in the UK in 2007. Such freedom of speech violations won't be an anomaly if the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), which has a permanent delegation to the United Nations, succeeds in passing a UN resolution against "Defamation of Religion" Noboby in a western country will be able to discuss the socio-political consequences of Muslim immigration, for fear of being labeled "Islamophobic" and slapped with a fine, or even jail time. Islamists are increasingly using lawful Islamism, or non-violent and legal strategies to spread Sharia, (Islamic law) in the West, encroaching on non-Muslim life everyday. Such examples include.. .................. read more Time Running Out For Iran's Christian Converts - Apostasy Bill Could Be Passed Soon
A month ago, the Iranian parliament voted in favour of a draft bill, entitled "Islamic Penal Code", which would codify the death penalty for any male Iranian who leaves his Islamic faith. Women would get life imprisonment. The majority in favour of the new law was overwhelming: 196 votes for, with just seven against. Imposing the death penalty for changing religion blatantly violates one of the most fundamental of all human rights. The right to freedom of religion is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and in the European Convention of Human Rights. It is even enshrined as Article 23 of Iran's own constitution, which states that no one may be molested simply for his beliefs. And yet few politicians or clerics in Iran see any contradiction between a law mandating the death penalty for changing religion and Iran's constitution. There has been no public protest in Iran against it. David Miliband, Britain's Foreign Secretary, stands out as one of the few politicians from any Western country who has put on record his opposition to making apostasy a crime punishable by death. The protest from the EU has been distinctly muted; meanwhile, Germany, Iran's largest foreign trading partner, has just increased its business deals with Iran by more than half. Characteristically, the United Nations has said nothing. It is a sign of how little interest there is in Iran's intention to launch a campaign of religious persecution that its parliamentary vote has still not been reported in the mainstream media.For one woman living in London, however, the Iranian parliamentary vote cannot be brushed aside. Rashin Soodmand is a 29-year-old Iranian Christian. Her father, Hossein Soodmand, was the last man to be executed in Iran for apostasy, the "crime" of abandoning one's religion. He had converted from Islam to Christianity in 1960, when he was 13 years old. Thirty years later, he was hanged by the Iranian authorities for that decision. Today, Rashin's brother, Ramtin, is also held in a prison cell in Mashad, Iran's holiest city. He was arrested on August 21. He has not been charged but he is a Christian. And Rashin fears that, just as her father was the last man to be executed for apostasy in Iran, her brother may become one of the first to be killed under Iran's new law.. .................. read more
7. Increase in Knowledge/New Technologies Start-Up Offers Lower-Price DNA Mapping
The cost of determining a person’s complete genetic blueprint is about to plummet again — to $5,000. That is the price that a start-up company called Complete Genomics says it will start charging next year for determining the sequence of the genetic code that makes up the DNA in one set of human chromosomes. Such a price, The New York Times’s Andrew Pollack reports, would represent another step toward the long-sought goal of the “$1,000 genome.” At that price point it might become commonplace for people to obtain their entire DNA sequences, giving them information on what diseases they might be predisposed to or what drugs would work best for them. “It’s a shockingly low price,” George M. Church, a professor of genetics at Harvard who is an adviser to Complete Genomics and to several other sequencing companies, told The Times. Then again, the cost of DNA sequencing has dropped by a factor of 10 every year for the last four years, a faster rate of decline than even for computers, Dr. Church said. DNA consists of a string of chemical units, usually represented by the letters A, C, G and T. The order in which those letters appear governs a person’s inherited traits. Sequencing involves determining that order. The human genome — the complete set of DNA — consists of about six billion letters, counting both members of each pair of chromosomes. The first human genome sequence, completed by the federally financed Human Genome Project in 2003, is estimated to have cost a few hundred million dollars. Last year, the genome sequence of James D. Watson, a discoverer of the structure of DNA, was completed at a cost of about $1 million.......................... read more Homeowners can link private cameras to city's surveillance network
Charles Hill installed five surveillance cameras outside the 3,720-square-foot home he's building in West Chatham after local kids broke $3,700 worth of architectural windows. From now on he won't be the only one checking the video when something bad happens on his block. After vandals broke $3,700 worth of windows, Charles Hill had enough. He's linking his security cameras to Chicago's 911 center. Charles Hill is the first homeowner to agree to hook up his camera's to the City of Chicago network. Hill has become the first private homeowner to take the city up on its unprecedented offer to connect privately owned exterior surveillance cameras to Chicago's 911 emergency center. "It'll do wonders for the block. God forbid, something mysteriously happens in the community. Those cameras could provide the city with some edge -- wherever it takes them," Hill said. "Some people talk about the ACLU and all these privacy rights. But if a crime takes place, those individuals had to come from somewhere. I don't care if it's my brother or my mother. If those cameras do what they're supposed to do, whoever suffers will suffer." Nearly two dozen colleges, businesses and high-rises also have agreed to share their video with the 911 center to create a panoramic view of disaster scenes. Considering the enthusiastic response in the first two months, City Hall is confident that hundreds of private cameras ultimately will be added to the city's network....................... read more Palm scans called next step for IDs
It could help track important information for patients, hands down. U.S. hospitals are adopting a palm-scanning technology to prevent fraud and link patients with medical records. Japanese technology giant Fujitsu began developing palm-scanning techniques in the mid-'90s after researching several biometric techniques including iris and fingerprint scanning. Palm scanners use near-infrared light to reveal the unique pattern of veins in a person's hand, which show up as a black pattern, each unique. Fujitsu says its internal tests show that the vein patterns are 300 times more complex than fingerprints. Even identical twins have different vein patterns. Fujitsu via Scripps Howard News Service A near-infrared image of a palm can be used to identify people through the unique pattern of the veins. Fujitsu found many people were uncomfortable with iris scanning and feared finger-scanning pads could spread germs. Holding a hand over a palm scanner is more hygienic and less intrusive, the company says. Three Japanese banks, among several early adopters of the technology, installed palm scanners during 2004 to prevent fraud. In the past two years, U.S. hospitals in Florida, California and the Carolinas have installed palm scanners to link patients to their medical records - replacing driver's licenses and Social Security numbers as proof of identity. Students taking the GMAT, or the Graduate Management Admission Test, will be required to scan their palms, as a fraud-prevention measure, beginning in March. The palm scanners will replace fingerprint readers in 425 test centers worldwide, said Dave Wilson, president and chief executive officer of the Graduate Management Admission Council, which organizes the test. The U.S. government uses palm scanners to control access to areas where agencies destroy classified computer data. Fujitsu hopes to market computer mice with built-in palm scanners that would provide better security for online banking........................ read more Blogs, social networks, alternative news to be filtered out of free Nationwide Wi-Fi Network?
Both individual proposals to roll out free nationwide wi-fi Internet access across the United States contain language indicating that political websites deemed “offensive” will be filtered out and blocked. The implementation of a universal wi-fi network covering the entire country is moving closer following the approval of House Representatives Anna Eshoo and Edward Markey after it was discovered the network would not interfere with incumbent wireless telcos such as AT&T and Verizon, who had raised concerns over potential signal interference. Two competing parties, M2Z Networks and the FCC, are jockeying for the rights to roll out the network, but both have already stated their intent to install filters that block out anything else deemed “harmful”. According to a Daily Tech report, “Both proposals stipulate that any free wireless offerings have mandatory content filters, preventing users from viewing any material that “would be harmful to teens and adolescents,” including pornography and anything “contemporary community standards” deem as obscene. Free-speech advocates call this condition unconstitutional.” Similar free wi-fi networks on smaller scales include mandatory content filters that screen out even mildly political websites that are not part of the corporate establishment media. London’s St. Pancras International free wi-fi network blocks a barrage of alternative political websites. “If you follow the logic of the rule, the network would have to block the news because a great deal of it discusses disturbing events or depicts these events through photographs and video clips,” reports ABC News, adding that blogs, social networks and any other user generated content would be excluded entirely from the network. If the rollout of a nationwide network is privatized then what is to stop the company from installing filters that censor political websites? This is already the case in major transport hubs across the west as free speech and anything that goes against the establishment grain is classified as “hateful” and is banned......................... read more
8. Christian Worldview/Issues How many are slipping out the back door of the church?
When it comes to growing a healthy church, Pastor Larry Osborne doesn't survey the front door to see how he can attract large crowds and wow them with a special program. For the most part, his eyes are glued to the back door. That's because so many churches have been losing people, and some, without even noticing. "As long as the front door is larger than our back door or even equal, we often think things are okay. And if the front door is larger, we’re excited that we’re growing," Osborne said as he explained how many churches lose almost as many people as they reach. "Rather than reaching 100 people, 20 of which we keep, I'd rather reach 50 people, 40 of which we keep," he told The Christian Post. "We've discovered lots of ways to reach people," Osborne writes in his new book, Sticky Church. "But we've often become so focused on reaching people that we've forgotten the importance of keeping people." Churches have often attracted record crowds during Christmas and Easter when they typically conduct fancier services or put on special shows. Some have taken outreach to new levels by marketing special events, advertising relevant and creative sermon series, or utilizing technology. But after the fancy lights, music and guest speaker are gone, the newcomer is likely to feel underwhelmed the following weeks and possibly slip through the back door. And larger churches are most likely to be unaware of the back door because of the many people who come through their wide front door. After all, Osborne writes in his book, Jesus didn't call churches to draw big crowds or just sign people up. "He told us to make disciples," he says. For Osborne, it's about fulfilling the second half of the Great Commission, instead of just the first half. While the familiar first half calls Christians to go into all the world and make disciples, the second half goes further in urging believers to teach others to observe all things Jesus taught them.................. read more Online Missionaries – New Force in Evangelism
Flights to exotic locations, uprooting one’s family, and investing years of one’s life are no longer required to do global mission work given the advancement of communication technology. Now, with the power of Internet technology, Christians can share the Gospel and God’s plan for salvation with people in 191 countries around the world without leaving their home. Global Media Outreach (GMO), with its more than 71 Web sites divided by popular issues and topics, has helped over 1.3 million people indicate a decision for Jesus Christ in 2007 alone. “People who are in crisis typically log on,” said Walt Wilson, founder and chairman of GMO, to The Christian Post. When people search about marriage and affairs, “chances are very good that they are going to find us,” he said, “In fact that is the number one topic right now – marital relationship.” Wilson noted that two weeks ago a woman told him that she googled “help me” and that was how she found the ministry. Others have search on the Web using key words such as drug addiction, alcoholism, and financial chaos, among others and have found GMO. GMO boasts a volunteer force of some 2,000 online missionaries who reply via email to questions posted by seekers, skeptics, and Christians needing support. The ministry purposely creates Web sites that are easy to use and find as well as safe for individuals who are searching for God online to learn about the Gospel and connect to a Christian mentor. Volunteers are recruited from evangelical churches and are asked for references from their pastor. They typically spend only a few minutes a day responding to emails and hold another full-time job. Christians participating in the ministry come from a wide range of professional backgrounds including business executives, housewives, students, truck drivers, and others. Through these online missionaries, people from places as removed as a small village in Afghanistan have been able to ask questions about Jesus and Christianity.. ............. read more Study: Student Views Shift Left in College
On issues such as abortion, gay "marriage" and religion, college students shift noticeably to the left from the time they arrive on campus through their junior year, new research shows. The reason, according to UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute, isn't indoctrination by left-leaning faculty but rather the more powerful influence of fellow students. And at most colleges, left-leaning peer groups are more common than conservative ones. After college, students — particularly women — move somewhat back to the right politically. The research is the latest of several efforts by academics to lend analytical rigor to an emotional debate. Overall, college faculty lean left politically, but there's sharp disagreement on whether they impose their views on students. The UCLA researchers are among several social scientists who have tried to undermine the argument that students respond strongly to their teachers' opinions. Overall, students were nearly as likely after three years of college to call themselves "conservative" or "far-right," according to findings, and only somewhat more likely to call themselves "liberal" or "far left." On specific policy questions, they moved to more liberal positions. Sixty percent of the college juniors said they support legalized abortion, up from 52 percent who said so as freshmen. The percentage supporting "legal marital status" for gay couples rose from 54 to 66. The percentage supporting increased defense spending fell from 34 to 25. "People are moving out of the center to the left during college," said one of the researchers, Alexander Astin............... read more Chicago plans school for gay students
The Pride Campus of Social Justice High School would be open to all students in the city, and would probably end up being "majority straight", said Arne Duncan, the head of Chicago Public Schools. But it would provide a supportive atmosphere for gay pupils, using prominent gays and lesbians - including James Baldwin and Gertrude Stein - in its curriculum. Bill Greaves, the city's liason officer on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, said the school would "make sure these people are not invisible in history". He said it was important that gay and lesbian historical figures were highlighted to give young gay people positive, successful role models. The proposals were supported by most of the 50 Chicago residents who attended a public meeting on the city's education. They will be voted on by the Chicago board of education on October 22. If approved, the Pride Campus would be unlikely to open until 2010 and would teach 600 students................ read more Thousands of Christians Flee Iraqi City After String of Killings
Cars and trucks loaded with suitcases, mattresses and passengers cradling baskets stuffed with clothes lined up at checkpoints Monday to flee Mosul, a day after the 10th killing of an Iraqi Christian in the northern city so far this month. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but local leaders have blamed al-Qaida in Iraq, which maintains influence in the region despite an ongoing U.S.-Iraqi military operation launched in May. The latest victim was a music store owner who was gunned down Sunday evening at work in an attack that left his teenage nephew wounded, according to police and a neighbor. Farques Batool, in his 50s, had refused to join other Christians fleeing the city because he needed to care for his wife, a daughter, his mother and the family of his dead brother, his neighbor Raid Bahnam said. Batool's family finally fled Mosul after his death, leaving his wounded nephew in the hospital. With the killing of at least 10 Christians this month alone, according to police, thousands have abandoned their homes in Mosul to seek refuge in churches and with relatives in neighboring villages or in relatively safe Kurdish-controlled areas nearby................. read more Christianity spreads by 'house churches' in China
Zhao Xiao, a former Communist Party official and convert to Christianity, smiles over a cup of tea and says he thinks there are up to 130 million Christians in China. This is far larger than previous estimates. The government says there are 21 million (16 million Protestants, 5 million Catholics). Unofficial figures, such as one given by the Center for the Study of Global Christianity in Massachusetts, put the number at about 70 million. But Zhao is not alone in his reckoning. A study of China by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, an American think tank, says indirect survey evidence suggests many unaffiliated Christians are not in the official figures. And according to China Aid Association, a Texas-based lobby group, the director of the government body that supervises all religions in China, said privately that the figure was indeed as much as 130 million in early 2008. If so, it would mean China contains more Christians than Communists (party membership is 74 million) and there may be more active Christians in China than in any other country. In 1949, when the Communists took power, less than 1 percent of the population had been baptized, most of them Catholics. Now the largest, fastest-growing number of Christians belong to Protestant "house churches." The truth is that Christians and Communists are circling each other warily. But it is hard to avoid the conclusion that Christianity will have a political impact one day. "If you want to know what China will be like in the future," concludes Zhao, "you have to consider the future of Christianity in China.".............. read more
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