Scripture books promoting ‘dangerous’ messages about sex and male power are being used in NSW public schools according to a parent-run lobby group, Fairness in Religions in Schools (FIRIS). FIRIS targeted the publication ‘Teen Sex By the Book’ and its companion manuals, produced by Australia's biggest evangelical Christian school curriculum publisher. FIRIS claims the book describes homosexuality as ‘misplaced sexual desire’ and warns that girls wearing short skirts and low-cut tops might tempt their Christian brothers to lust. The battle to remove Christianity from public school curricula is not a new one. A spokesman for the Anglican Church said Christian Special Religious Education (SRE), an optional course, teaches what the Scriptures say about the forgiveness of sins, hope for life after death and wisdom for living now. SRE teachers teach children to honour their parents and love their neighbour. One Sydney Christian leader asked, ‘What is wrong with Christians teaching the children of parents who select Christian SRE that we believe monogamy is God's good purpose, and that sex is best reserved for marriage?’
A UN report accuses the Eritrean government of extrajudicial executions, torture, national service and forced labour that create a climate of repression driving many to flee. It catalogues a litany of human rights violations by the ‘totalitarian’ regime of President Isaias Afwerki on a scope and scale seldom witnessed elsewhere. The government uses imprisonment, forced disappearance, surveillance and censorship to create a culture of permanent fear and crush all dissent. The year-long study, which was carried out without the cooperation of the Eritrean government, is based on first-hand testimony gathered through 550 confidential interviews with witnesses in third countries and 160 written submissions. After Syrians, Eritreans were the most common nationality to arrive on European shores, comprising 22% of all people entering Italy by boat last year. Faced with a seemingly hopeless situation they feel powerless to change, hundreds of thousands of Eritreans are fleeing their country.
Nigeria: Violence follows recent elections
11 Jun 2015
Horrific violence has followed the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari in May, as Boko Haram militants attacked the city of Maiduguri, capital of Nigeria’s north-eastern Borno state and birthplace of the Islamist insurgency group Boko Haram. Gunfire and explosions reverberate through the city and scores have been left dead. ‘We don’t know what happens next,’ a church leader told Barnabas. ‘Pray for the believers in the city of Maiduguri. Pray for God’s special intervention.’ On 29 May, militants launched 50+ rockets into the town, killing scores of people. On Saturday, a suicide bomber killed several people as he detonated himself in a mosque. On Sunday, a bomb went off near the Gomboru market, killing scores more. On Tuesday 2 June, a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Gomboru market, killing at 20+ people. In his inaugural speech President Buhari announced that the command centre for security forces would be moved from Abuja to Maiduguri.
Australia: Faith leaders write to PM on marriage
11 Jun 2015
Australian Christian Lobby Managing Director Lyle Shelton has joined with 38 leaders of Christian and other religious groups in signing a letter to the Prime Minister urging him and the parliament to uphold the true meaning of marriage. Mr Shelton said that such a demonstration of support from Australia's faith communities for man-woman marriage and the rights of children it protects was a welcome development in what has been largely a one-sided debate. ‘It is so important our nation does not sleep-walk into a legislative change to the definition of marriage without considering the consequences,’ Mr Shelton said. The letter was signed by Catholic and Anglican archbishops and 36 heads of many other denominations.
A man and his friend saw 48-year-old Richard Matt and 34-year-old David Sweat in their backyard with what looked like a guitar case. The witnesses' identities are being withheld because of safety concerns. When the witnesses confronted the men they said they were lost and then ran away. The man added, ‘we’re lucky to be alive.’ The escaped convicts used power tools to cut through a steel wall in their adjoining cells and escape through a steam pipe. The search for the two men has been extended to Canada and Mexico as well as New York. Matt was serving a life sentence for killing and dismembering his former boss. Sweat was also serving life for torture and murder.
In an area where being a Christian is very dangerous, brave intercessors are running courses on how to pray and to hear from God with the vision of building a strong network of prayer groups in 24/7 prayer for Pakistan. The organiser said, ‘During this course we shared how God has worked in hopeless places around the world to bring change. We had periods of forgiveness and reconciliation between churches and denominations, with them coming forward and asking forgiveness. People told of how they had never done this in person before and the blessing it was to them. With demonic activity more evident against Christians, we taught ‘cleansing your house of evil’ - using Scripture to rebuke the evil one and send him out of your home. Many came back the next day telling of the peace they had for the first time in their homes.’
Global: 30 days of prayer for the Muslim world
11 Jun 2015
30 days of Prayer is an international movement of intercession for the Muslim world. The purpose is to mobilise the church to pray! The origin of this call to prayer and fasting for the Muslim world came about as a group of Christian leaders were praying about the Islamic world during a meeting in the Middle East in 1992. God put a burden on the hearts of these men and women to call as many Christians as possible to pray for the Muslim world. Today this event draws millions of Christians worldwide to a united, global prayer meeting. In 2015 the prayer will start on 18 June and finish on 17 July. A wave of mission mobilisation and Muslim mission awareness is occurring across the globe, and this prayer event is planned to coincide with the Islamic month of Ramadan.
Libya: IS captures 88 Christians
11 Jun 2015
The IS terror group kidnapped 88 Eritrean Christians from a people-smugglers' caravan in Libya last week, a U.S. defence official confirmed on Monday. The defence official confirmed initial reports of the mass kidnapping to Fox News after seeing a recent intelligence report. The independent Libya Herald newspaper reported that the convoy was ambushed by militants south of Tripoli before dawn this past Wednesday morning. Meron Estafanos, the co-founder of the Stockholm-based International Commission on Eritrean Refugees, told the paper that the group of migrants included about twelve Eritrean Muslims and some Egyptians. They put them in another truck and they put twelve Eritrean women Christians in a smaller pickup. The militants had initially stopped the truck and demanded that the Muslims on board make themselves known. Everyone who responded was asked about the Qu'ran and their religious observance in an attempt to catch Christians pretending to be Muslims.