The Persecution of Pakistan’s Christians

Posted by Faith J. H. McDonnell Bio ? on Jun 29th, 2012 

“The People of the Book” is Islam’s distinctive name for non-Muslim monotheists such as Jews and Christians. It sounds like a title given to those respected and revered. Unfortunately, the opposite is true. “Protected People,” another such term, sounds so reassuring. Who doesn’t want to be protected? But for the Islamic world’s “Protected People” there is no protection.

Nowhere is this truer than for Pakistan’s tiny minority Christian population. Rather than being protected, Pakistani Christians are disadvantaged and victimized in every way. Dhimmis, treated as second-class citizens, they live with grinding poverty and Muslim contempt, deprived of education and employment opportunities. Vulnerable to threats and lacking the means to defend themselves, they are the inevitable targets of Islamist attacks, even victimized by those who are supposed to protect them, merely because they are Christians.

Christians in northern Pakistan, such as the precarious Afghanistan-bordering Northwest Frontier Territory Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and Punjab Province have long suffered and continue to suffer oppression and persecution. But increasingly, Christians in southern Pakistan’s Sindh Province are being persecuted under the “Talibanization” of Karachi. Afghani and Pakistani Pashtun militants that have been flooding Pakistan’s largest city forthe last few years are causing problems for the whole city, but especially for the impoverished, minority Christian community. They and other Islamists subject southern Pakistan’s Christians to horrific violations of their human rights and dignity.

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Prophetic Day in Cuba: 10,000 Attend First Open-Air Evangelistic Meeting in Island’s History

Meredith Hodge : Jul 2, 2012 : Bright Hope Church/Christian Newswire

Today is a prophetic day in this nation. In the same place Christopher Columbus announced that this was the most beautiful land human eyes had seen, now we speak upon the same land—but this time, in the true freedom of Christ. What you have seen today is as if the heavens opened to declare that Jesus is the Son of God, with whom He is pleased.” -Bishop Ricardo Pereira

(Hoffman Estates, IL)—On June 15th, Bright Hope’s church partners in Cuba held their first outdoor evangelistic meeting in recent history with 10,000 people reported in attendance.

Outdoor Revival in Cuba Crowds from the city of Santa Lucia located in the district of Rafael Freyre in the Holguín Province of Cuba overflowed the large public square. The sky turned black, clouds started to roll in and lightning hit the ground as the event was about to begin. Spectators opened their umbrellas to prepare for the storm, but Believers started to raise their hands to the sky in worship. (Photo Courtesy: Bright Hope Church) 

One Christian replied, “Our God isn’t going to let this storm happen; it’s been a long time we have waited for this revival.” His prayer was answered and the storm passed. The local pastor’s wife, Mariza Proenza, said, “The hand of God covered the city!”

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Black Pastors Lay Down Gauntlet to Obama Over Same-Sex Marriage

By Paul Stanley , Christian Post Reporter – July 3, 2012

The Coalition of African American Pastors demanded on Monday that President Obama meet with the group to address his stance on same-sex marriage. So far, the White House has refused to acknowledge the group’s request but leaders say they plan to “turn up the heat” by asking black Christians to sit on the sidelines for the time being.

“We have requested a meeting with President Obama and until he meets with us, we are going to ask black Christians to withhold their support until he personally hears our concerns,” the group’s spokesperson, the Rev. Bill Owens, told The Christian Post on Tuesday after Monday’s press conference in Nashville.

“More than anything, this is an issue of biblical principles and President Obama is carrying our nation down a dangerous road. Many African Americans were once proud of our president but now many are ashamed of his actions.”

Owens said the group hasn’t received a response from the White House and they are growing frustrated with each passing day.

“We can’t compete with the Hollywood folks who are raising the big bucks for the president,” Owens said. “But it was black folks who rallied around him in 2008 and for him to ignore our request with a group of clergy who represents tens of thousands of black Christians of many denominations is an insult.”

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Pakistan: burned to death for Islamic blasphemy

By Rodrick Sanson – Friday, July 06, 2012

A man accused of blasphemy, according to Islamic religious law, was extra-judicially killed in Pakistan outside a police station in the Chani Ghoth area of theBahawalpur region in the Punjab.  Deputy Superintendent of Police Ahmedpur said, “The Chani Goth police station received a complaint that a person has burnt the pages of the Quran; the police arrested the person and brought him to the police station and put him in the lock up.

Some religious leaders announced on the loud speakers that a man has committed blasphemy against Islam.”As is frequently the case in Muslim-dominated Pakistan, mobs surrounded the police station baying for the life of the alleged blasphemer. The mob blocked the main highway through the town and broke down the gates of the police station, attacking the officers and injuring Station House Officer Ghulam Mohudin Gajjar along with four guards. Superintendent Ahmedpur also sustained injuries. All told, some 15 officers were injured in the melee and are now in hospital.

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Great Outpouring of Holy Spirit in Canberra / RUA Party first meeting ACT

Dear family and friends in Christ,

1) We praise and thank God for a wonderful weekend of Holy Spirit ministry in Canberra, as Pr Daniel ministered at three revival meetings in two different churches on Sunday the 5th and also shared the vision of Rise Up Australia Party on Sat 4th August.

At the Rise Up Australia Party meeting, Pr Daniel also the National President of RUA Party, shared the vision God gave him for Australia, and how Rise Up Australia Party will play a big role in it. As the people heard of the RUA Party slogan “Keep Australia Australian”, there was spontaneous clapping and great excitement amongst those who had come to the meeting!

As the RUA Party policies and principles were read out, people shouted and cheered with much excitment. The meeting was also attended by the NSW State President Peter Madden. He too briefly shared why RUA Party will make a difference in Australia. The people were just absolutely thrilled to hear that RUA Party will be contesting the 2013 Federal Election.

Over the weekend many people signed up and took membership with the political party. Also a RUA Party State Team was set up to lead operations in ACT. Most amazingly, almost in every single state and at the first National Executive meeting, 12 members formed the executive. This was unplanned and very much to the surprise of those present. It has happened right across the country! We give thanks to the Lord that 12 is the number for ‘God’s Government’ in the Word of God. We believe that this is really supernatural as it is God’s governmental authority!

Visit riseupaustraliaparty.com for more info on Rise Up Australia Party.

The services at New Connection Church and the Philippine Church were just absolutely wonderful on Sunday. The presence of the Holy Spirit was so powerfully present at every single meeting and many were mightily touched by God!

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CHINA DETAINS DEFIANT CATHOLIC BISHOP

Leslie Hook, Published: July 11

BEIJING — Tensions between Beijing and the Vatican are mounting after Chinese authorities detained an outspoken Catholic bishop who has defied state control of the church, a move that highlights the Communist Party’s deep mistrust of religious organizations.Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin was whisked away just hours after he announced his resignation from the leadership of the Patriotic Catholic Association, or PCA, the government body that controls China’s state-sanctioned version of the Catholic Church, according to two people close to the PCA.

Ma, whose ordination had been supported by both Beijing and the Vatican, made the announcement during his ordination ceremony on Saturday in the St. Ignatius Cathedral in Shanghai.

In a snub to the authorities, he said he would immediately quit his duties in the association to focus on his new role as auxiliary bishop of Shanghai, one of the largest dioceses in China. (more…)

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Olympic Committee On Munich Moment of Silence Refusal: “Muslims Tied Our Hands”

July 17, 2012 – http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com.au

Ankie Spitzer whose husband was murdered by Palestinian terrorists during the 1972 Munich Olympics has been fighting to have a minute of silence at the London Games to remember the eleven murdered victims.

Her efforts have been supported by the governments of much of the western world, but they have been rejected by the International Olympic Committee.

The organisation and its president Jacques Rogge have been subject to intense criticism from across the international community for its continued refusal to honour the 11 Israel Olympians murdered at the 1972 Munich Games with a minute’s silence to mark the 40th anniversary of the killings, in what has been presented as a “humanitarian” gesture.

Munich widow Ankie Spitzer spearheaded the campaign by launching an online protest, which has since garnered support from across political spectrums in several countries including Israel, Canada, the UK, Australia, the US, Belgium and Germany.

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AUSTRALIAN PASTOR CRITICIZED FOR POSTING ‘ADAM AND STEVE’ MARRIAGE MESSAGE AT CHURCH

By Stoyan Zaimov , Christian Post Reporter – July 20, 2012

An Australian Baptist pastor has come under criticism for posting what are being called homophobic messages on his church windows – although he has said he is solely expressing his opinion on what the Bible says of human sexuality.

The Hamilton Baptist church in Australia, where the Rev. Trevor Walmsley preaches, displayed electronic messages on the side of the sanctuary reading “You are here because God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve,” and another reading “None of us owe our existence to same-sex sexual relationships”.

A number of local residents who read the messages were “outraged,” News.com.au reported, but Walmsley was quick to explain that the signs represent his views, and not necessarily those of the church.

“I suppose they are a bit controversial, but I am very much in support of marriage as it has been traditionally known,” the Australian pastor said. “I can’t speak for the denomination but for me personally, and probably for our church here, we would stand for the traditional definition of marriage of a man and a woman for life, to the exclusion of all others.”

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JEWISH RIGHTS GROUP TO ISRAELI MK: APOLOGIZE FOR RIPPING BIBLE

By Ethan Cole , Christian Post Reporter – July 19, 2012

One of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations is calling on the Israeli parliament member who ripped pages from the Bible to apologize.

“There is no excuse for abusing the sacred scripture of any other religion,” said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, and Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein, director of interfaith affairs at the center, in a statement Wednesday.

“Israel from its inception guarantees religious freedoms and mutual respect for holy sites and objects of all its citizens. Israelis of all persuasions and backgrounds welcome the friendship and support of members of all faiths,” Cooper and Adlerstein said. “Thank God Israel is not Saudi Arabia, where keeping a Christian Bible, let alone a Torah, Talmud or Siddur is a criminal offense. We urge MK Ben-Ari to apologize for his act and to find appropriate ways to strengthen Jewish identity and loyalty”. (more…)

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Brad Pitt’s mom slams Obama on abortion

by Patrick B. Craine

SPRINGFIELD, Missouri, July 6, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Brad Pitt’s mother has shocked the Hollywood star’s fans after slamming President Obama for his views on abortion and same-sex “marriage” in a letter to the local paper in Missouri.

Jane Pitt says Obama is “a liberal who supports the killing of unborn babies and same-sex marriage” and urges voters to back Republican candidate Mitt Romney.

“Any Christian who does not vote or writes in a name [that isn’t Romney’s] is casting a vote for Romney’s opponent, Barack Hussein Obama – a man who… did not hold a public ceremony to mark the National Day of Prayer,” she wrote in the Springfield News-Leader.

An editor’s note at the bottom of the July 3rd letter on the paper’s website says that after some confusion, they have “verified the letter writer is the mother of actor Brad Pitt and local businessman Doug Pitt.”

Obama has been labeled the “abortion president” because of his radical views on the “right to choose”. His pro-abortion views are so extreme that he has even opposed protections for victims of failed abortions who are born alive.

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ROMNEY TOUR TO EMPHASIZE UNITY WITH ISRAEL AND EUROPEAN ALLIES

By Maeve Reston / Tribune Washington Bureau – July 23, 2012 

BOSTON — Mitt Romney’s seven-day foreign tour this week promises to be an elaborate show of statesmanship — from his meetings with more than a dozen leaders from Britain, Israel and Poland to his attendance at the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games in London.

But his advisers said voters should not expect any major policy pronouncements. The presumptive Republican nominee for president, they said, is traveling abroad mainly to “learn and listen.”

In a campaign dominated by the economy, the international trip offers the former Massachusetts governor a rare chance to show voters that he would be a capable leader on the world stage. He will he have the chance to brush up his foreign policy credentials — a weak spot in his resume — and his presence at the opening ceremonies of the Olympics on Friday also will allow him to highlight his experience turning around the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City when the organization faced scandal and financial crisis.

Mindful that it would be considered bad form for a presidential candidate to criticize of the nation’s commander in chief on foreign soil, Romney’s aides said that he would not make direct policy contrasts with President Barack Obama while abroad.  But he plans to frame his foreign policy goals and the purpose of his trip in a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars on Tuesday in Nevada.

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Israel Sunday at CTFM packed with powerful testimonies / Rise Up Australia Prayer in Melbourne this Fri 3rd Aug

Dear family & friends in Christ,

1) On Sunday we had a glorious time in the presence of the Lord as several of those who went on the trip to Israel and Sri Lanka came to CTFM church in Hallam to share their testimonies of what God did in their lives on this tour.  There were testimonies of tremendous healing, restoration and how the Lord mightily touched their hearts! Following are 2 very powerful testimonies.

THE DEMON OF DEATH IS GONE! HALLELUJAH! ALL PRAISE AND GLORY AND HONOUR TO OUR GREAT GOD ALMIGHTY. THANK YOU JESUS!

I have been battling depression for all of my adulthood. I was raised in a Christian family and have always been a believer in Jesus Christ and worshipped Him. My own personal journey with Jesus started when I read the whole bible at 16 years old. So how could a Christian be suffering depression to the extent of being suicidal?? I knew it was not right to want to die or to commit suicide [and it was only God that saved me from doing this] but I couldn’t seem to help the way I was feeling – I was convinced that death was the only way out and only option for my torment to stop. 

It was like I didn’t have control over my mind or feelings, and I was a professional at distancing myself from people so no one really knew what was going on. I went on the CTFM Israel/Sri Lanka 2012 tour. We all had an amazing time in Israel but I still was suffering and fighting the severe symptoms of depression. 

Click the following link to keep reading. https://reformationharvestfire.com/prophetic-words/testimonies/

Miraculous Healing of Breast Cancer (This testimony was read at a meeting in Sri Lanka, before Pr Daniel preached)

It’s winter now in Melbourne with morning temperatures barely reaching two digits, but every other week my husband and I wake up early on a Sunday morning and drive right across town to Hallam, for the morning service a Catch the Fire Apostolic Centre. The service lasts three hours and is totally different to the Sunday mass that we regularly attended in our local Catholic Church. The one hour mass at the parish church was “fitted” into our week’s busy schedule and was frequently irksome and often a chore. Extraordinarily the service at Catch the Fire which takes not one hour but a full morning is something we have come to look forward to and recognise as the high point of the week.

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Gold Medals and God’s Word

Friday, July 20, 2012 – By Dan Wooding – Founder of ASSIST Ministries

How World Champion Sculler, Tom Treseder, found the ultimate reward in his life

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (ANS) — As the London 2012 Olympics are set to start in the British capital, one man in Australia will be watching the events with keen interest.

He is Tom H. Treseder, who during the last century was a World Champion sculler and whose name is etched in rowing history, yet he has revealed that, despite his success, his early life was empty and he was searching for something he had not yet found.

“The rowing trophies began to fill a whole cabinet in the family home,” he says.

His name continued to take up columns in the Australian press. He was popular with girls and older people recognized him as Treseder, the up and coming champion sculler and rower.

Yet, Tom says with all the popularity and success there was still an emptiness, a void in his heart. However he would never let on to those around him that he was searching for something he had not yet found.

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Amazing Report on CTFM tour of Sri Lanka / Muslims, Hindus & Bhuddists come to Jesus

Dear family & friends in Christ,

After the amazing time in Israel, the whole CTFM group arrived in Sri Lanka and was blessed with 5 star hotel accommodation by the travel agent. This amazing hotel, overlooking the beach, old Parliament House, the Twin Towers and many other 5 star hotels, was just breath taking. It also gave us a view of the helicopter landing pad of the President of Sri Lanka.

After the 24 hour stay, half the group prepared to depart on route back to Australia. Just then, Pr Daniel’s daughter Shannen got on the piano at the 5 star hotel lobby, packed with guests and started singing and playing “He is Lord”. Within seconds the whole CTFM team was around the piano singing and worshipping the Lord!

This hotel, which is owned by an Arab Muslim man attracted many Muslims as their guests. It was most interesting to see many guests stop and watch us worship. Some of us were able to witness to them. Then half the team departed in a bus to the airport, while the rest of us stood at the entrance of the hotel and shouted, “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Ooi, ooi , ooi!”  Many had tears and their was a lot of hugging and kissing as we said goodbye. It was amazing how the team had bonded together. It was truly an amazing trip.

The next day early in the morning we left on our tour of Sri Lanka. Our first stop was the Elephant orphanage. Driving throught the streets of Sri Lanka was very interesting. There were many horns blowing, vehicles coming from every direction, but some how all got through. No road rage, no abusing, but they all just smiled, as one got through at the intersection.

The Sri Lankan people were always smiling, very warm and welcoming. I would love to go and live there for some time. The Elephant orphanage was very exciting. As we came within 2 metres of a herd of 56 elephants, we watched them eat and some of us fed them, and also watched them bathe.

Then we headed up to the hill country of Kandy, the place where the former kings in Sri Lanka ruled from. We visited a tea factory and then stayed the night at a hotel overlooking the lake. Here we had a buffet dinner and were entertained by a clipso band.

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A Million March for Jesus in Brazil

Teresa Neumann (July 17, 2012)  Source: Anugrah Kumar – The Christian Post As of 2011, Brazil is the world's second most Christian-populated country. (Sao Paulo, Brazil)—More than a million Christians united…

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