| 1. Where is the United States in Prophecy? And now for a world government
I have never believed that there is a secret United Nations plot to take over the US. I have never seen black helicopters hovering in the sky above Montana. But, for the first time in my life, I think the formation of some sort of world government is plausible. A “world government” would involve much more than co-operation between nations. It would be an entity with state-like characteristics, backed by a body of laws. The European Union has already set up a continental government for 27 countries, which could be a model. The EU has a supreme court, a currency, thousands of pages of law, a large civil service and the ability to deploy military force.So could the European model go global? There are three reasons for thinking that it might. First, it is increasingly clear that the most difficult issues facing national governments are international in nature: there is global warming, a global financial crisis and a “global war on terror”. Second, it could be done. The transport and communications revolutions have shrunk the world so that, as Geoffrey Blainey, an eminent Australian historian, has written: “For the first time in human history, world government of some sort is now possible.” Mr Blainey foresees an attempt to form a world government at some point in the next two centuries, which is an unusually long time horizon for the average newspaper column. But – the third point – a change in the political atmosphere suggests that “global governance” could come much sooner than that. The financial crisis and climate change are pushing national governments towards global solutions, even in countries such as China and the US that are traditionally fierce guardians of national sovereignty. Barack Obama, America’s president-in-waiting, does not share the Bush administration’s disdain for international agreements and treaties. In his book, The Audacity of Hope, he argued that: “When the world’s sole superpower willingly restrains its power and abides by internationally agreed-upon standards of conduct, it sends a message that these are rules worth following.” The importance that Mr Obama attaches to the UN is shown by the fact that he has appointed Susan rice, one of his closest aides, as America’s ambassador to the UN, and given her a seat in the cabinet. A taste of the ideas doing the rounds in Obama circles is offered by a recent report from the Managing Global Insecurity project, whose small US advisory group includes John Podesta, the man heading Mr Obama’s transition team and Strobe Talbott, the president of the Brookings Institution, from which Ms Rice has just emerged. The MGI report argues for the creation of a UN high commissioner for counter-terrorist activity, a legally binding climate-change agreement negotiated under the auspices of the UN and the creation of a 50,000-strong UN peacekeeping force. Once countries had pledged troops to this reserve army, the UN would have first call upon them. These are the kind of ideas that get people reaching for their rifles in America’s talk-radio heartland. .................. read more Terrorists Look West for New Recruits
The deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai are raising many questions about the safety of Americans here and abroad. It is clear that al Qaeda and its allies are still plotting against the U.S. and other democratic nations. And they're turning to some fresh recruits to help make it happen. The overwhelming majority of Islamic terrorist attacks over the past 30 years have been carried out by young men of Middle Eastern and South Asian descent, leading Western authorities to pay closer attention to these particular groups while assessing possible terrorists. Al Qaeda and other terror groups are well aware of this profile and are looking to adapt. Among their newer tactics is the use of women and even the mentally handicapped as suicide bombers. But the most common untraditional jihadist to emerge is the white convert to radical Islam. At first glance, these pale-skinned jihadists of European descent can pass for the average small town guy-next-door. And that's exactly the point. Intelligence experts see this as an emerging trend: white converts being transformed into soldiers of jihad--and working to destroy a country from within. Daveed Gartenstein-Ross is a terrorism analyst with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies in Washington. "Having operatives from the societies you are trying to strike is extremely beneficial," he said. "They're much less prone to being caught and being disrupted," Gartenstein-Ross explained. "And I do think we'll see more of an attempt to use them." Gartenstein-Ross has studied homegrown Islamic terrorism closely. "Even though most Western governments have the position that they don't profile, al Qaeda doesn't believe that," he said. "They want people who have passports, who have Western passports, who understand Western society, and therefore have a much easier job of blending in and going wherever they need to go to carry out their mission." Britain, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Germany, Romania, Russia and Australia have all seen white converts convicted in recent years for their involvement in major terrorist plots. For example, the 2006 plot to blow up 10 transatlantic airliners traveling from Britain to the U.S. involved two white British converts. In 2007, a major plot to strike Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany involved white German converts. Perhaps most disturbingly, the U.S. military stepped up its drone missile strikes in the tribal regions of Pakistan earlier this year after seeing white jihadists at terrorist training camps there. The fear was that the men would return to the West and carry out attacks inside the United States prior to the November presidential election.................... read more
2. Israel - God's Timepiece New Israeli radar to pinpoint rocket launchers in preparation for conflict with Hamas
With an eye to a future conflict with Hamas and Hizbullah, the IDF's Artillery Corps is preparing to integrate a new radar system that will help locate and destroy rocket launchers more quickly than ever before, Chief Artillery Officer Brig.-Gen. Michel Ben-Baruch has told The Jerusalem Post. The radar will be operational within a few months. Under production by Elta Systems - a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries - the new radar will be able to provide artillery cannons with a 360-degree view of a battlefield and detect the exact location of rocket launchers. The location will then be transmitted digitally to the cannons or rocket systems deployed nearby, which will be able to fire at the launchers and destroy them. "There is no radar like this in the world," Ben-Baruch told the Post. "It can pinpoint the location of the launch and then find the range the cannons will need to aim at to fire."................... read more Gaza Jihad: Calm before the Storm
Members of Islamic Jihad may be driven by hate for Israel and the US, but there's an element of respect as they train for war. Israeli Defense Ministry officials know that Palestinian terror groups in the Gaza Strip are continually upgrading their capabilities and threat to Israel. They also know that Iran is providing the lion's share of funding and weaponry to these groups. "It [Islamic Jihad] is a very good client from the Iranian point of view because it's completely in the pocket of the Iranians, completely financed and run by the Iranians," Israeli Middle East analyst Jonathan Spyer told CBN News. "What we're seeing as a result of the [six-month] cease-fire is that you're having more and more Palestinian operatives -- not only from Islamic Jihad, but from other groups too -- going out of Gaza via the southern tunnels into Sinai and then going and taking part in training activities facilitated by the Revolutionary Guards in Iran," Spyer said. Islamic Jihad terrorists are amassing an upgraded weapons cache, which includes heavier and more powerful roadside bombs meant to target tanks and heavy machinery weighing more than 60 tons. The deadly, 175-pound bombs can penetrate nearly a foot of armored steel. Iran has also equipped Islamic Jihad with longer-range rockets, dubbed "Jerusalem rockets," which can target populations five to seven miles away. Rockets now reach the coastal city of Ashkelon and will soon threaten areas not far from Tel Aviv, and they're working on extending the range from 11 to 13 miles. While the world presses Israel for an illusive two-state solution for Arabs and Jews, the jihadists embrace no such vision. To them, all the land from the shores of the Mediterranean to the Jordan River is an Islamic Waqf [religious trust], and the Zionist enemy [Israel] must find itself a different place to exist.................... read more Netanyahu on course for Israeli election win -polls
Benjamin Netanyahu could coast to victory in Israel's election two months from now, opinion polls showed on Wednesday, and he plans to take a detour on what Palestinians had hoped would be a U.S.-paved road to statehood. Economic proposals could yield dividends for the former prime minister and head of the right-wing Likud party -- tipped to take up to 36 seats in the 120-member legislature in the Feb. 10 ballot, more than enough to form a ruling coalition. Netanyahu's widely praised stint as finance minister in 2003 to 2005, when he pushed free market reforms that spurred growth, could translate into votes in a contest coinciding with the global downturn affecting Israel, his advisers believe. Israelis will be asking: "Who can manage the Israeli economy in times of crisis?" one said. But his strategists acknowledge that Palestinians are likely to be reluctant, at least publicly, to embrace a Netanyahu proposal to focus U.S.-led peace efforts on bolstering their frail economy rather than on a statehood deal any time soon. The former front-runner in the Israeli electoral race, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni of the centrist Kadima party, has been Israel's chief negotiator in talks with the Palestinians that Washington had hoped would result in a deal this year. Wide differences remain over issues at the core of the conflict such as the future of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees. A Netanyahu adviser said "Bibi" wants the United States, Israel and Palestinians "off a track that's not going anywhere"..................... read more Israelis and Palestinians reach secret peace deal, says Blair
International Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair told the largest Palestinian newspaper this week that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas have reached a unsigned secret peace agreement. Blair was quoted by the Jerusalem-based daily Al Quds as saying that "continuous meetings between Abbas and Olmert...have produced an agreement," though he said he would abide by an decision by both leaders to keep the details of the agreement secret for the time being. The agreement remains unsigned because Israeli law forbids Olmert to make significant policy changes or decisions while he is head of a transition government. However, anything Olmert and Abbas agreed to will be expected by the international community to form the basis for peace negotiations going forward, regardless of who wins Israel's upcoming general election.................... read more
4. The Gog/Magog War Report: Iran rocket arsenal tripled in 2008
In a sign that Iran is taking military measures to ward off the threat of an attack on its nuclear facilities, the country has tripled the number of long-range rockets in its arsenal, Channel 10 reported on Monday. According to the report, Iran possessed 30 Shihab-3 missiles at the beginning of 2008. Currently, the country claims to have over 100 over long-range missiles capable of hitting Israel. While the ability of the Islamic Republic to strike any point in Israel has long been known, this latest build-up potentially points to an Iranian intent to launch a protracted counter-strike against those who seek to destroy its nuclear program. Last summer, Iran held a massive missile exercise during which it claimed to have launched an improved version of the Shihab-3, known to have a range of 1,300 kilometers. The Iranian Fars News Agency Web site reported that the Shihab-3 had recently been equipped with an advanced guidance system that significantly improves the missile's accuracy and can correct its flight plan in midair.. ................. read more Russia's Putin hints at 2012 return to Kremlin
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has hinted that he may return to his old job in the Kremlin, but not before his ally President Dmitry Medvedev's term expires in 2012. Asked by a reporter whether he would rule out returning to the presidency next year, Putin said: "The next elections in the Russian Federation are in 2012 ... we will have to get through to that time, then we will see." Medvedev prompted speculation about an early Putin return to the Kremlin last month when he unexpectedly proposed lengthening the presidential term to six years. The move, widely seen as intended to benefit Putin, was rushed through parliament. But Putin told reporters he was satisfied with the "tandem" style of government. This has seen the two men collaborating closely, albeit with Putin perceived to hold the upper hand. "We have formed a very effective tandem with President Medvedev," Putin said. .................. read more
5. Apostate Christianity Liberal Episcopals vote for more homosexual clergy
The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles has joined seven other dioceses in passing a resolution asking the church to let lesbians as well as homosexual men become bishops. The vote at the diocesan convention rejected the Episcopal Church’s de facto moratorium on electing homosexual bishops since its 2003 consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, who lives with his same-sex partner. The resolution will be considered at the Episcopal Church’s national convention next July. The Los Angeles diocese also expressed support for homosexual "marriage" with the creation of the "Sacramental Blessing for a Life-long Covenant.".............. read more
6. The Rise of Islam Iraq To Be Center Of New EU-Style Middle East Union Of Muslim Nations?
Iraq has unveiled plans for the creation of a regional economic and security union for the Middle East explicitly modelled on the European Union. Official government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh announced the proposal on Tuesday in Washington at the Institute of Peace, a US government-linked think-tank, saying that talks on the plan with the country's neighbours were already underway. Mr al-Dabbagh said there was "great interest" in the project, according to AFP. Informal discussions on "Regional Economic Partnership" have reportedly been launched with Kuwait, Syria and Turkey, though not yet Iran. The aim would also to be to bring on board Jordan and Saudi Arabia and - in a subsequent phase - the Gulf states of Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, but not Israel. "The new Iraq could convert the region into the EU model," the UK's Daily Telegraph quotes the Iraqi official as saying at the meeting. "Iraq is going to play a major stabilising factor," he added. Iraq sees a "necessity for regional security and economic co-operation," Mr al-Dabbagh said. The proposal is the latest in a long line of regional groupings modelled on the European Union. The African Union, a confederation of 53 African states was established in 2002, growing out of the earlier Organisation of African Unity. The grouping is still at the very earliest stages of approaching anything like the EU's level of joint governance and integration.. ................ read more Obama plans major address in Islamic capital
President-elect Barack Obama plans to give "a major address" in an Islamic capital soon after taking office as he seeks to mend America's image in the Muslim world, a Chicago Tribune interview said. "I think we've got a unique opportunity to reboot America's image around the world and also in the Muslim world in particular," Obama said in the interview published late Tuesday on the Tribune's website. Obama promised an "unrelenting" desire to "create a relationship of mutual respect and partnership in countries and with peoples of good will who want their citizens and ours to prosper together." The world "is ready for that message." Obama also said he would be sworn on January 20 using his full name, Barack Hussein Obama. During the presidential campaign, some of Obama's political opponents would refer to his middle name in an attempt to portray him as a secret Muslim. But the Christian president-elect said he would follow tradition for the inauguration ceremony. "I think the tradition is that they use all three names, and I will follow the tradition," Obama told the paper. "I'm not trying to make a statement one way or another. I'll do what everybody else does.".. .................. read more
7. Increase in Knowledge/New Technologies Cyber cops on their way? Obama urged to establish new office for regulating Internet
A panel of web experts from government, private and the military sectors released a report yesterday urging the next president to establish a new office of cyberspace security and begin federal regulation of the Internet. The report, "Securing Cyberspace for the 44th Presidency," from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank established during the Cold War, alleges the Department of Homeland Security has failed to secure the Internet and new measures are needed – despite inevitable concerns about online privacy – to keep America safe. "We still have an industrial-age government that was organized a century ago," said Jim Lewis, one of CSIS's directors, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. "The DHS has a 1970s-style solution to a 21st century problem." "The United States must treat cybersecurity as one of the most important national security challenges it faces," the CSIS panel asserts in its report. "This is a strategic issue on par with weapons of mass destruction and global jihad." To back its claim, the panel cites a litany of cybersecurity breaches that it claims hit sensitive areas in 2007 alone: "The unclassified e-mail of the secretary of defense was hacked, and DOD officials told us that the department's computers are probed hundreds of thousands of times each day," the panel reports. "A senior official at the Department of State told us the department had lost 'terabytes' of information. Homeland Security suffered break-ins in several of its divisions, including the Transportation Security Agency. The Department of Commerce was forced to take the Bureau of Industry and Security off-line for several months, and NASA has had to impose e-mail restrictions before shuttle launches and allegedly has seen designs for new launchers compromised. "Recently the White House itself had to deal with unidentifiable intrusions in its networks," the report continues. "Senior representatives from the intelligence community told us that they had conclusive evidence, covertly obtained from foreign sources, that U.S. companies have lost billions in intellectual property." To counter the reported attacks, the panel recommends steps that, by the CSIS' own admission, may raise privacy concerns for American citizens. While acknowledging the benefit of online anonymity, the report nonetheless contends there must be better systems in place to authenticate Internet users' digital identities. "Creating the ability to know reliably what person or device is sending a particular data stream in cyberspace," the panel states, "must be part of an effective cybersecurity strategy." ......................... read more The GPS as dashboard snitch
In their cocoons of leather upholstery, soothing high-tech sound systems, and automatically activated personal seat settings, drivers have come to regard their car interiors as mobile extensions of the homes that are their private refuges. The courts have tended to disagree. Global positioning systems and factory-installed “black box” event data recorders effectively keep late-model vehicles under surveillance 24/7, providing evidence that can place a suspect at a crime scene, undermine an alibi, expose a cheating spouse, or prove liability in an accident. Although privacy rights advocates warn that the devices augment an already intrusive network of security cameras, speed-monitoring radars, and instantly available databases, police and prosecutors hail the technologies as powerful investigative and forensic tools. GPS tracking records introduced at trial put a Yolo County, Calif., man at the scene of arson fires, leading to his conviction in October for setting a dozen blazes in 2006. A Commerce, Calif., man suspected of robbery was tracked by police detectives who planted a GPS unit in his car, mapping his movements and using the evidence to convince a jury he was guilty of assault with a deadly weapon. The evidence is sometimes the product of unwitting self-surveillance. GPS units keep positioning tracks that, if not erased, create a record of a person’s movements. Event data recorders are standard equipment in most new cars. They record speed, braking, signaling, and other driving behaviors, and can show investigators vital details about what led to a crash. Wisconsin attorney David A. Schumann, who did some of the earliest legal analysis of GPS potential, points out its usefulness in tracking suspects, locating victims, and monitoring released convicts. “There are cases where people have gotten hung by their own GPS, bought for purposes of evading the law only to have it used against them,” Mr. Schumann says of drug traffickers and migrant smugglers caught with evidence they unknowingly gathered against themselves. In the privacy debate, courts so far have come down on the side of taking advantage of the crime-solving value of the technologies. The 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals issued a landmark ruling last year that GPS tracking of a suspected methamphetamine manufacturer didn’t constitute unreasonable search or seizure as proscribed by the Fourth Amendment. In “It’s Already Public: Why Federal Officers Should Not Need Warrants to Use GPS Vehicle-Tracking Devices,” attorney John S. Ganz wrote in the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology three years ago that since 1967, courts consistently have upheld that citizens can’t expect privacy when traveling on public roads......................... read more Scientists develop software that can map dreams
A team of Japanese scientists have created a device that enables the processing and imaging of thoughts and dreams as experienced in the brain to appear on a computer screen. While researchers have so far only created technology that can reproduce simple images from the brain, the discovery paves the way for the ability to unlock people's dreams and other brain processes. A spokesman at ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories said: "It was the first time in the world that it was possible to visualise what people see directly from the brain activity. "By applying this technology, it may become possible to record and replay subjective images that people perceive like dreams." The scientists, lead by chief researcher Yukiyaso Kamitani, focused on the image recognition procedures in the retina of the human eye. It is while looking at an object that the eye's retina is able to recognise an image, which is subsequently converted into electrical signals sent into the brain's visual cortex. The research investigated how electrical signals are captured and reconstructed into images, according to the study, which will be published in the US journal Neuron. Dreams were the focus of a scientific survey conducted by the Telegraph last year in which it was concluded that dreams were more likely to be shaped by events of the past week than childhood traumas. ......................... read more
8. Christian Worldview/Issues Bush Not A Bible Literalist; Talks of Belief in God
President George W. Bush said his belief that God created the world is not incompatible with scientific proof of evolution. In an interview with ABC's "Nightline" on Monday, the president also said he probably is not a literalist when reading the Bible although an individual can learn a great deal from it, including the New Testament teaching that God sent his only son. Asked about creation and evolution, Bush said: "I think you can have both. I think evolution can — you're getting me way out of my lane here. I'm just a simple president. But it's, I think that God created the earth, created the world; I think the creation of the world is so mysterious it requires something as large as an almighty and I don't think it's incompatible with the scientific proof that there is evolution." He added, "I happen to believe that evolution doesn't fully explain the mystery of life." Interviewer Cynthia McFadden asked Bush if the Bible was literally true. "You know. Probably not. ... No, I'm not a literalist, but I think you can learn a lot from it, but I do think that the New Testament for example is ... has got ... You know, the important lesson is 'God sent a son,'" Bush said. "It is hard for me to justify or prove the mystery of the Almighty in my life," he said. "All I can just tell you is that I got back into religion and I quit drinking shortly thereafter and I asked for help. ... I was a one-step program guy." The president also said that he prays to the same God as those with different religious beliefs.................... read more Media Misconceptions on Bible, Homosexuality
In the aftermath of the passage of California's Proposition 8, Newsweek and Hollywood are the latest players to launch their attacks on traditional marriage supporters and the biblical case against homosexuality. And Christians are taking issue with the misconceptions, factual errors and holes in the arguments being presented in popular public spheres. "It doesn’t surprise me. Newsweek has been so far in the tank on the homosexual issue, for so long, they need scuba gear and breathing apparatus," said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, according to Politico. "I don’t think it’s going to change the minds of anyone who takes biblical teachings seriously." Land's comments were directed at Newsweek's current cover story, "The Religious Case for Gay Marriage," written by religion editor Lisa Miller. In the story, Miller says "examples of 'the traditional family' are scarcely to be found" in the Old Testament and that the Bible does not explicitly define marriage as between one man and one woman. She further argues that the modern married couple would not look to the Bible as a guide while citing polygamy in the Old Testament. "Religious objections to gay marriage are rooted not in the Bible at all, then, but in custom and tradition," Miller writes. "The Bible was written for a world so unlike our own, it’s impossible to apply its rules, at face value, to ours." Rejecting Miller's arguments, Land said the Bible clearly prescribes marriage as heterosexual, citing passages in Genesis, where God pairs Adam and Eve, and Ephesians in the New Testament when the apostle Paul compares the relationship between husband and wife to the relationship between Jesus and the Church, according to Politico. Newsweek's story reflects the confusion that many people have regarding Scripture and homosexuality. And the media isn't the only one to blame for it. "Part of that confusion is skillful misrepresentation, and part of it is the failure of the church to faithfully and diligently promote biblical apologetics and exegesis," according to Bob Stith, who heads the Ministry to Homosexuals Task Force in the Southern Baptist Convention.. ............. read more Survey: 9 in 10 Americans Believe in Miracles
Nearly 9 in 10 Americans believe miracles have occurred in the past and can still occur today, according to a new national survey. While only 48 percent of those surveyed by N.J.-based HCD Research said miracle stories presented in religious texts should be taken as literally true, 86 percent said they believe that miracles have occurred in the past and 85 percent believe that they can occur today. The new survey also found a slight majority (56 percent) of Americans claimed to have seen situations and circumstances with themselves, friends and/or family members which they consider to be “miraculous” or “unexplainable by science.” “Modern people believe in miracles, but only more subtle ones,” commented the Rev. John McNeil, a Methodist minister and a blogger for HCD Research’s website MediaCurves.com. “Perhaps many of us believe in divine interventions about attitudes and other psychological states, but not in large changes of matter,” he explained Tuesday – one day after the survey’s results were released. “Thus prayers for a friend to have hope or courage seem plausible, but prayers for a family member to re-grow a limb or be cured of a fast-progressing fatal illness seem pointless.” When asked how much of the outcome of medical or surgical treatment they believe is related to forces totally outside of human control, 55 percent of responders said either very little or none of the outcome should be attributed to non-human forces such as the supernatural or "acts of God." Only 45 percent said either all or most of medical outcomes are influenced by non-human forces. Still, 76 percent of responders said they pray for individual friends and family members and 71 percent encourage family and friends to pray................. read more Protecting Baby Jesus with GPS
When Baby Jesus disappeared last year from a Nativity scene on the lawn of the Wellington, Fla., community center, village officials didn't follow a star to locate him. A GPS device mounted inside the life-size ceramic figurine led sheriff's deputies to a nearby apartment, where it was found face down on the carpet. An 18-year-old woman was arrested in the theft. Giving up on old-fashioned padlocks and trust, a number of churches, synagogues, governments and ordinary citizens are turning to technology to protect holiday displays from pranks or prejudice. About 70 churches and synagogues eager to avoid the December police blotter jumped at a security company's offer of free use of GPS systems and hidden cameras this month to guard their mangers and menorahs. Others, like the Herrera family of Richland Hills, Texas, took matters into their own hands. Upset after their teeter-totter was stolen, the family trained surveillance cameras on their yard and was surprised when footage showed a teenage girl stealing a baby Jesus worth almost $500. Police have obtained the tape. For two consecutive years, thieves made off with the baby Jesus figurine in Wellington, a well-off village of 60,000 in Palm Beach County, Fla. The ceramic original, donated by a local merchant, was made in Italy and worth about $1,800, said John Bonde, Wellington's director of operations. So last year, officials took a GPS unit normally used to track the application of mosquito spray and implanted it in the latest replacement figurine. After that one disappeared, sheriff's deputies quickly tracked it down. Sensing opportunity in that kind of success story, New York-based BrickHouse Security is offering up to 200 nonprofit religious institutions a free month's use of security cameras and LightningGPS products it distributes................. read more Russia plans 'liquidation' of Christian ministries
Dozens of Christian organizations that have been providing social services, ministry and other help inside Russia are being targeted for "liquidation" by the nation's Ministry of Justice, according to a new report. The information comes in a newsletter from a leader with an American Christian organization, Youth With A Mission, who reported he found a declaration recently on the webpage of the Russian Ministry of Justice listing the pending "liquidation" of 56 religious organizations. The American ministry leader was out of the country and unavailable today, but his wife, contacted by WND, explained the pressure on evangelical groups is coming from a combination of resurging Russian hatred for the West, and pressure from Orthodox churches to ban outside organizations. She told WND all of central Asia is seeing an increasing level of persecution of Christians, since there are Muslim majorities in many locations. "Russian authorities definitely want Christians out. They are targeting them," she said. "They are allowing only three-month visas, and then you have to leave. Obviously you can't do long-term ministry there." "Aat least 35 of the 56 listed qualify as Protestant organizations," the newsletter said. "These include the humanitarian 'World Vision' and 'Youth with a Mission." At least six Baptist organizations are listed. These include one established by the Russian branch of the 'Billy Graham Evangelistic Association' and three regional districts of the 'Russian Union of Evangelical Christians-Baptists,'" he said. "Apparently; several entire churches are up for liquidation, including the 'Union of Churches of Presbyterian Christians' and the 'Assemblies of God.' Even the 26-congregation-strong 'Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians' is scheduled for elimination," the newsletter said.................. read more |
Posts
