American Girl, 14, Gets Death Threats For Defending Marriage

There are MANY things I want to say about this article and maybe I will. But for now I will say:
1. Even the young aren't immune from persecution.

2. It surprises me that they are going so far as to threaten my sister in Christ. It goes to show the wickedness of man. And the fact that they threaten her shows that they know that what they are doing wrong and they are trying to suppress (Romans 1:18-25).

3. Just so everyone knows, I am from Maryland (where same-sex marriage has just been made legal) and the fact that this happening in my home state is frightening.

I'll say more later.

02/28/2012 United States (The Christian Institute)-A 14-year-old girl in America received death threats and abuse after taking a stand for the traditional definition of marriage. Sarah appeared before the state of Maryland’s legislature last month where she urged lawmakers not to redefine marriage. She urged a committee to give her “the best birthday present ever,” by “vot[ing] no on gay marriage.”

Threats
But after the youngster’s testimony appeared online she was subjected to vulgar attacks, threats of violence and even death wishes. Other documented responses included: “I’m gonna kill ‘er!”

Exterminated
“Her parents should be exterminated.”
“The [sic] is why abortion must stay legal—to prevent little bigots like this from being Born…”
“Kill this child and his [sic] parent, for my 11 birthday would be a wonderful gift, thanks.”
“Parents like hers should be sterilized…”

Testified
Sarah testified before the Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee at the end of January. She said: “I really feel bad for the kids who have two parents of the same gender. Even though some kids think it’s fine, they have no idea what kind of wonderful experiences they miss out on. “I don’t want more kids to get confused about what’s right and okay. I really don’t want to grow up in a world where marriage isn’t such a special thing anymore.”

School Censors Second Grade Student’s John 3:16 Message

Western Persecution continues. People trample over the 1st amendment because of their hostility to the Christian religion.

02/21/2012 United States (Charisma News) - What was meant to be a sweet holiday left a bitter taste in the mouth of second grader Dexter Thielhelm. At a Valentine’s Day “friendship party and chocolate celebration,” James Madison Elementary School officials confiscated Thielhelm’s gifts of candy-filled water bottles with a typewritten note that included the message “Jesus Loves You” and the text of the Bible verse John 3:16. The Sheboygan, Wis., school’s principal only allowed the gifts to be distributed after his message was removed.

David French, a senior attorney with the ACLJ, issued a demand letter this week to the Sheboygan Area School District, asking for assurances that the district will “cease its viewpoint-discriminatory treatment of religious speech.”

“It has been well settled by the Supreme Court that religious speech is protected by the First Amendment and may not be singled out for disparate treatment,” says French. “To censor Dexter’s speech because of its religious nature is pure and simple viewpoint discrimination.”

According to District Assistant Superintendent of Student Instructional Services Mark Holzman, Thielhelm’s
Valentine’s Day messages were censored for fear that students receiving the child’s gift might not be comfortable with his religious message. But the Supreme Court has ruled that students cannot be prohibited from exercising their First Amendment rights simply because someone might be offended.

“It’s pretty simple, really. A student does not shed his constitutional rights at the schoolhouse gate. The general rule is student free speech is protected absent disruption. Dexter’s message was not disruptive, and the school must end its censorship,” French says.

“In claiming the district’s decision was necessary to maintain religious neutrality, Sheboygan District Superintendent Joe Sheehan has gotten it backwards. Neutrality would have been achieved by allowing Dexter to distribute his religious Valentine’s message on the same terms that other students were permitted to distribute their Valentine’s gifts(Source).”

A Review of Tortured for Christ Part II: A continuation the reflection and summary

After spending fourteen years in prison, he met up with his wife again and they leave Romania for Western countries like Norway, England and then finally America. He goes on to say in the 4^th chapter (Defeating Communism with the Love Spirit of Christ) that he hates communism, but he loves the communist. And he recaps in that chapter that he and fellow brethren in Christ were joyful while in prison. Later in the book (Chapters 5 and 6), he continues to talk about the Underground Church, their courage and how they are defeating communism. He talks about the courage of people who challenge the communist professors on their atheistic beliefs. They did this so much so that theses professors stopped giving their lectures. He says that the Christians were shining their lights for the Lord Jesus Christ and that was what gave them credibility for their witness among the non-Christian Russians. He recaps a story about a Christian girl who shows loves to a Communist girl and that eventually causes her to swear her allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ. This causes her to witness openly to all the inmates and other people in the prison. It was only a matter of time before they shipped her off to Siberia. After this Varia (the atheist girl who was led to Christ), writes a letter basically saying that she can’t keep quiet about the gospel and now because she has Jesus Christ, her life now has purpose. In her last letter she was said to have become a slave laborer. And finally he concludes with ways the Western Christians can help their persecuted brethren in Christ.

A Review of Tortured for Christ: A summary and a reflection

I'm going to do something very different here. I'm going to give a personal insider's look in the life of a persecuted Christian. I'm going to summarize a book known  as Tortured for Christ, which was written by a man named Richard Wurmbrand. Richard is the founder of Voice of the Martyrs, an organization which is dedicated to helping our persecuted brethren in Christ Jesus all over the world.

Note: This summary/reflection is a report that I'm writing for my College class, Christianity and Critical Thinking at Grace College. This will explain the way in which I may write at times.

The book Tortured for Christ, recaps the adventures of a Romanian Christian named Richard Wurmbrand. It includes the giving of his life to the Lord Jesus Christ as well as the persecution he faced in the Communist country that he lived in at the time. This story also includes his ministry of converting the atheists and other people to the Christian religion and many other miracles that accompany it. It also shows how he began the famous ministry known as Voice of the Martyrs, which is focused on serving persecuted Christians even to this day.

            The first chapter of the book, “The Russians Avid thirst for Christ”, shows us how Richard was converted. Richard was a staunch atheist up till the age of 28 years of age when he was lead to Christ Jesus by a carpenter. A little bit later his wife, Sabina, gave her life to Christ Jesus. After that conversion experience, he and his wife begin to start evangelizing civilians all over Romania. However it wasn’t easy. The Soviet Union (modern day Russia) started to occupy Romania. The Soviet Union was a Communist country. For those who don’t know, communism is a philosophy invented by Karl Marx and his sidekick Vladimir Lenin. It was a philosophy designed to overthrow the bourgeoisie (rich people, ruling people) and create a classless society where everyone shared property. Here was Marx’s view of religion and God; he thought that God was an idea made up by the bourgeoisie to oppress the proletariat as seen here:

            Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people.[1]

Because this was Marx’s view on God and religion, Wurmbrand and his fellow brethren in Christ faced heavy persecution from the Communists. Chapter two which is named “Greater Love Hath No Man” recaps basically all the persecution which Richard and his brethren in Christ faced, particularly within prison. It was especially horrendous. The Communists used red-hot pokers, knives, put them in freezing chambers, had them beaten and tortured all for the sake of Christ and to force confessions out of them. Richard Wurmbrand writes saying, that the torturers got rapturous joy from torturing them. Their communist philosophy caused them to believe that humans were just material beings. Yet most, if not all, of them endured it for Christ and they became examples of boldness to the other members of the Underground church. Finally in 1956, after being in prison for 8 and half years of being beaten, tortured and interrogated, Wurmbrand was released. He resumed his previous position for about a week and at that week he preached two sermons. After that the authorities asked him to stop. Then he witnessed to the brethren in Christ which he met about the pain he endured while in prison. He also directed a secret network of evangelists who spread the gospel to non-Christians. Finally the Secret police caught him and Wurmbrand went through another five and half years of prison, torture and many other horrendous things. However, just like his 8 and half years prison he saw his fellow Christian inmates loving their persecutors, responding to their persecution with bravery, and so on and so forth.     

This review of Tortured for Christ is taking a while. I'll have to finish it tomorrow.

Campaign To Retain The Legal Definition Of Marriage As That Between A Man And A Woman

02/21/2012 UK (Christian Concern)-Conservative MP for Enfield Southgate, David Burrowes, has faced harassment, abuse and even a death threat due to his support for a campaign to retain the legal definition of marriage as that between a man and a woman.

Mr Burrowes is a leading supporter of ‘The Coalition for Marriage’, a campaign launched on 20 February to stop the redefinition of marriage to include same-sex couples. He said: “My views are that the values of marriage should be between a man and a woman and that is something which is set out in statute hundreds of times – if you change the shape of marriage then you change its purpose and risk changing the meaning of it.

“I do not see the need for legislation to recognise gay marriage. I will vote against it. But it does not at all follow that I am anti-gay and homophobic.

“I don’t in any way challenge the fact that people will want to change the law and it’s important that this is a debate that is done with respect and we respect people’s views.”

Campaign against Mr Burrowes
As well as receiving abusive messages and a death threat, Mr Burrowes faces opposition from within his own party. Phillip Dawson, the treasurer at Mr Burrowes’ Conservative association, has launched a campaign to challenge his position and also to condemn his involvement with Christian group CARE, urging him to “listen to the views” of his homosexual constituents.
...
Consultation
Next month, Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone will publish a consultation on homosexual marriage, although the consultation will be asking ‘how’ such a measure will be introduced, rather than ‘whether’ it should be.

The Prime Minister’s plans do not appear to be favoured by Christians. A recent poll by ComRes found that 83% of church-going Christians in the UK are opposed to the plans to legalise homosexual marriage, and 57% of all respondents are ‘less likely to vote’ for the party because of this move.

Earlier this month, the Archbishop of York, Dr Sentamu, also received abusive and threatening emails after he told The Daily Telegraph that marriage was not for the “state to define” but must continue to be legally recognised as “a relationship between a man and a woman(Source)."

UK Christian Woman Denied Rights Given To A Muslim Over Work Days?

The double standards here shock, anger and enrage me. In Saudi Arabia, women aren't even allowed to drive a car and in Islam a woman can be beaten into submission (Sura 4:34). Is it just me or is Britain slowly starting to look like countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan as this article is showing? (Words written in bold throughout the article are of the author)Read it for yourself:

02/21/2012 UK (The Christian Post)-A Christian care worker from the U.K. claims that she was discriminated against when she was not allowed accommodations from her employers for her beliefs while her Muslim co-worker was treated differently. Celestina Mba is suing the London Borough of Merton after being forced to resign from her position at the Brightwell Children's Home in 2010 over her desire not to work on Sundays, the day of Sabbath.

She states that her requests not to work on a Sunday were initially respected by the council, which reportedly indicated they could "work around" that fact, when she applied for the job. Seven months into her job at the respite home, however, her bosses changed their position and asked her to cover shifts on Sundays, forcing her to choose between her job and her faith.

Mba, a Christian since a young girl, has never worked on a Sunday and worships every Sabbath at her Baptist church. She is also part of the ministry team visiting hospitals and providing pastoral care for young women, according to The Daily Mail UK.

The 57-year-old employee tried to reach a compromise with her employers, saying that she was willing to work "at any unsocial time of shift (i.e. night time or Saturday shifts) in order to preserve [her] Sundays."
She claimed that was even willing to take a reduction in pay as well and tried to arrange shift swaps with her colleagues, which the management purportedly tried to obstruct.

But she believed that ultimately her bosses did not want to compromise with her and saw the issue as "a question of management power with disrespect to the Christian faith."
Her beliefs and unwillingness to work on a Sunday eventually led to a disciplinary hearing in January 2010 and she resigned four months later.

I praise the Lord Jesus Christ for giving my sister in the faith the willingness to be uncompromising in her beliefs.

While her own faith could not be accommodated for, Mba stated that managers were "happy" and willing to allow her Muslim colleague to attend mosque every Friday. But her former manager, John Deegan, testified that he did not know of any Muslim employee being given special treatment and also denied Mba even mentioning that it was difficult for her to work on Sundays because of her religion.

"This is another case where we see intolerance towards the Christian faith and a lack of willingness to make accommodation for it," Andrea Williams, director of the CLC, said.
...
Richard Thompson, president and chief council of the Thomas More Law Society, believes that under American law, though he wasn't sure about the laws in the U.K., the courts would hopefully find that Mba was being discriminated against on the basis of religious belief, especially since her Muslim co-worker was given rights that she was not(Keep reading).

Accused Pastor In Kashmir, India Given Reprieve

02/16/2012 India (CDN)-A court has ordered the Jammu and Kashmir state government to temporarily halt criminal proceedings against a pastor accused of bribing Muslim youths to convert to Christianity. The state’s High Court on Saturday (Feb. 11) halted proceedings in the police complaint of “promotion of religious enmity by conversions” against the Rev. Chander Mani Khanna of the Church of North India denomination.

Responding to a petition by the pastor to quash the complaint, the court issued notices to top officials of the state’s police department and interior ministry because investigators have not been able to formulate charges even though the case was registered last Oct. 29, Pastor Khanna told Compass by phone. Pastor Khanna, who retired on Jan. 16 from All Saints Church in Kashmir Valley’s Srinagar city, seemed relieved.

“After I was released on bail, the court had asked me not to leave the state, but with this stay order I can at least travel out,” he said.

The pastor, who remained in jail for more than 40 days until he was released on bail last Dec. 1, added that the court asked the government to file its response by March 14, and then it will set the date for the next hearing. Police have not been able to gather evidence of “conversion by allurement” against Pastor Khanna.
The pastor added that real victory will be achieved when he is allowed to return to Kashmir, in the Muslim-majority region of the state.

“We do not want to retaliate,” he said. “We want to promote the spirit of acceptance, accommodation and tolerance and be salt to the community in Kashmir for the betterment of the whole country.”

Kashmir’s sharia (Islamic law) court, which has no legal authority in India, in December found Pastor Khanna, the Rev. Jim Borst, a Dutch Catholic missionary and Gayoor Messah, a Christian worker, guilty of “luring the valley Muslims to Christianity” and ordered them to leave the state. The court, headed by Kashmir Grand Mufti Bashir-ud-din Ahmad, also “directed” the state government to take over the management of all Christian schools in the region.
Muslim leaders had been rallying against Christians after a video posted on YouTube last October showed the baptism of formerly Muslim youths at All Saints Church. The sharia court summoned Pastor Khanna and held a hearing before announcing its verdict against the three pastors.
Reconversions
Life has been extremely difficult for Kashmir’s Christians since the sharia court’s verdict, said a Christian worker who fled the region last month along with 15 others. Muslim clergy, he told Compass, claim to have converted 155 Christians back to Islam.

“But I don’t believe that,” added the source, who said he fled fearing police would force him to speak against Pastor Khanna. “I have spoken to some of them, and they said they neither denounced their faith, and nor did they embrace Islam. Out of fear, they listened to the ‘advice’ while remaining non-committal.”
Local online news portal Kashmirwatch.com late last month reported that an Islamic seminary in north Kashmir was working with 115 converts to bring them back to Islam.

“We are collecting details,” it quoted a seminary official as saying. “We would try to catch them all and persuade them to revert to Islam.”

Local Christians say the sharia court has formed area committees to prevent conversions and reconvert Christians. Committee members are visiting Christians’ homes and allegedly pressuring them and their families to return to Islam.

Kashmirwatch.com reported that over 20,000 Kashmiri Muslims had converted to Christianity since separatist militancy erupted in Kashmir in the 1990s. According to a September 2002 report in Christian media in the United States, it reported, the number of “neo-Christians” was 15,000.

“The conversions are likely to have surged past 20,000, with over a dozen Christian missions and churches based in the U.S., Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland operating in the state,” the news portal stated.
Local Christians said the report in the U.S. media was not accurate (Keep reading).