it could happen to you

I know I haven't blogged much in the past couple of months... but this one hits too close to home to ignore.

Many of you probably listen to Christian radio stations, because you like the music, content, message and it just puts you in a better mood. Thank God we live in a free country where our views can be freely aired. Thank God we live in a free economy where Christian broadcasters can open up shop, and begin sharing the goodness of Christ with the masses using the mediums of radio and television. This is the United States, at least for right now. (It wasn't always this way, even until recently, see this article for details)

I've always thought that Canada was similar. Didn't you? Our neighbors to the north seem so open, warm and friendly, but it appears that they live under an increasingly communist regime that seeks to thwart free speech. Now our brothers who are running Christian radio stations in Canada are being called upon to share "opposing viewpoints" for a specified number of minutes per day. This includes sharing the gospel of Mohammed, Buddha, and Krishna. How wonderful. Now we can hear Chris Tomlin singing "How Great Is Our God" immediately followed by the Quran Minute. Oh joy. Just what I wanted to hear. (That is, of course, the whole reason I turned to the Christian radio station, right?)

Denis Carmel is the director of the CRTC (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commision). He insists that Bob Du Broy, a Christian broadcaster in Canada, needs to be fair and give time to other faiths on his Christian broadcasting stations. Christian broadcasters pay for their own stations. If the Muslims or the Hindus want radio stations, let them spend their own money for them. This is one place where I truly believe that the principles of Ayn Rand and the principles of the Bible meet in such wonderful harmony. It's Mr. Du Broy's money. Let him spend it how he sees fit.

Government run media - what a wonderful way to be like early 20th century Germany.

Denis Carmel, you should be ashamed of yourself.

The full article is here.

name, address, social security, race, religion

Several years ago, Lina Joy filled out a government form to receive her identification card. There were fields on the card such as name, address, height and religion. Yes. You heard me right. Lina had to put her religion on an identification card. She wrote in Islam. They printed it on her card.

Then she became a Christian.

For the past six years, Lina has been fighting the government of Malaysia to get her religion changed on her identification card. Today, the court rejected her request, and ruled that she is Muslim and will remain Muslim. They said "you can't at whim and fancy convert from one religion to another." Actually, the person I quoted is a a Federal Court Chief Justice named Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim. Does anyone else sense a conflict of interest here?

You may wonder why this is important. Why should she care what her identification card says anyways, I mean, we're just talking about a religious belief, right? Well, in Malaysia, those who have Islam on their identification cards are ruled according to Sharia, the Muslim rule of law. According to the way Malaysia implements Sharia, a Muslim cannot marry a Christian by law. Thus, Lina cannot marry her boyfriend. This is heartbreaking. Could you imagine going to the courthouse to apply for a marriage license, only to be told that according to the religion you wrote down on your card, you're not allowed to marry your lover? Malaysia has no respect for the personal pursuit of happiness.

To make matters worse, Lina has already been disowned by her family and has had to quit her job as a computer salesman.

Please pray for Lina and her boyfriend. Pray that God's peace may surround them in their struggles. Pray for Malaysia, that basic human rights, the rights that should be most fundamentally recognized in any country would be realized. Pray that Malaysia, and other governments that abuse their power and their people would be brought low.

It baffles my mind, the things that humans do to each other.

"Justice" Tun Dato' Sri Ahmad Fairuz bin Dato' Sheikh Abdul Halim, you should be ashamed of yourself.

Read the complete article here.

I took the liberty of noting this ruling here.

dalit happenings

Praise God!

It is looking as though the Dalit believers in India may finally be given their chance to take part in normal Indian society.

As a brief recap:

• Dalits are the lowest strata of the caste system. This basically means they are excluded from normal human privileges and treated lower than animals by those in other castes ("upper castes"). It is injustice, pure and simple - coercion of the less powerful by those with the power. Our God is a God of justice.
• A presidential order in 1950 in India reserves certain privileges only to those Dalits who subscribe to Hinduism. This order was extended in 1956 to include Sikhs, and in 1990 to include Buddhists. Those Dalits who do not subscribe to Hinduism, Sikhism or Buddhism are excluded from the caste system.
• The Indian Supreme Court will be holding a hearing on June 19th to consider restoring "Scheduled Caste" rights to Christian Dalits.

Obviously, the ideal situation would be a complete obliteration of the caste system as a whole, but this is certainly one step closer to equality, and we should thank God for the forward movement and pray that the rights are indeed restored.

Please, please, please pray for these people. Pray for India, that the caste system would be abolished, and that all people would be able to live equally. This has been going on for too long.

I leave you with a quote from Dr. Joseph D’Souza, the president of the All India Christian Council, recorded on the CD "Share the Well" by Caedmon's Call.

"Every religion in India, for example, is too religious. On one side, the upper caste live. On the other side, the Dalits live. And the Dalit side of the village will not have water, will not have electricity, will not have education. These are the people who are treated less than animals and have to live like animals. They have no access to the temples. They are ostracised. Their properties are taken, butchered, killed, etc. This has been going on for 3,500 years, but today it's a pressing problem, because this group of people, numbering about 250 to 300 million people... the Dalits have themselves risen up and said 'We can't take this anymore.'"

The full story is here.

a history of vietnam on may 11, 2007

Rev. Nguyen Thanh, from Vietnam, spoke to Congress. He mentioned the filth of the prisons that prisoners of conscience in Vietnam are required to endure. He spoke of the gross human rights violations in Vietnam ranging from the sale of underage girls to prostitution rings, to the arrest and imprisonment of anybody claiming any religion other than atheism (including Buddhism and Christianity), to the mass confiscation of property by the Communist government, to the physical silencing of those who would speak against the Communist party in any way shape or form. He failed to mention the plight of the Montagnards in northern Vietnam who are marginalized, and left without proper food and water.

At the very same moment, in Vietnam, two lawyers, Nguyen Van Dai and Le Thai Cong Nhan were sentenced to five and four year prison terms, respectively. They are in prison for their work to end the human rights violations in Vietnam, only a few of which were mentioned before Congress.

They will never get those years back.

Pray for Vietnam, write your congressman and senators. There is great joy in being God's hands, feet, and voices to our brothers and sisters in Christ who have lost theirs.

The article about the lawyers is here, and the Reverend's speech is here. I encourage you to read them both.

the new global economy

"It is not a human right to stare, not fight, while broken nations dream. Open up our eyes so blind, that we might find the mercy for the need."
- Hillsong, from the song "Solution" (on the upcoming album All of the Above)

It is said of the German civilians during WWII, that they were willfully ignorant regarding the concentration camps. They were aware of the camps, but supressed the truth and went through the motions of a "normal", "civilized" life, while nearby, thousands of Jews were being tortured and killed. These outrages happened locally. In the 1940's the world was filled with national economies.

Now we are economically and informationally global. Wouldn't it follow then, that if we hear about injustice anywhere, and we ignore it, we are no better than peaceful civilians near Auschwitz, whose silence and lack of action caused the death of millions?

You are not helpless. God gave you resources. Use them, and be his hands and feet in bringing justice to those without voices. There are links to some sites further down on the left column of this page. Visit some of them and learn how you can help.

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing" - Edmund Burke

ever heard of juche?

Adherents.com estimates that 19 million people in the world profess Juche (pronounced "joo-cheh"), making it the number 10 most adhered-to world religion - two spots up from Judaism. Ever heard of it? Me neither, until I read an article about it on International Christian Concern's website.

It appears that Juche's main tenet is that "man is the master of everything and decides everything". Frankly, it doesn't sound much different than our American philosophy of "The self-made man." That's pretty much it.

Except for the part about worshipping Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il.

Yes, you read it right. The North Koreans are now worshipping the father and the son, their king, who has come bringing wisdom.

They even have their own calendar. It starts on Kim Il Sung's birthday April 15, 1912 AD.

It really doesn't take much to deceive us. God, forgive us for selling our beliefs to the highest bidder!

Here's a quote from the same article on Asia Times Online:

Reporter Liu Fang quizzed a young student and checked on the degree of deification of the Dear Leader by asking questions that very much sounded like a Sunday-school teacher asking her pupil about the bedtime prayer. "Do you spare a particular time of the day, such as before you go to bed, for Kim? Do you talk to Kim? Does he talk to you?" The young student's answer to all these questions was, "Yes."

Right now, there are approximately 50,000 to 100,000 "Daniels" locked up because they won't worship King Kim Jong Il. In addition to that, there are 19 million people blindly following Kim Jong Il. North Korea needs the light of Christ.

Please pray for North Korea right now before you browse away.

church family

It's 9:00 in the morning on a Sunday as you pull up to the church. You walk in anticipating the fellowship and worship you've grown to know and love. A little under a year ago, you started attending after a friend of yours showed you the gift Christ brought us. You came into community and began to learn to love others. The sweetness of Christian fellowship now surrounds you as you're building memories with those you love. You're single, and in the last two months, you've begun dating another follower of Christ with whom you have much in common. Chiefly though, you share a common faith. You seek to know the heart of Christ, and to follow Him as you walk together.

The sun has risen this morning, and it's tracing its track across the sky. Sometimes it shines unencumbered, and sometimes it flies behind the clouds that stretch across the eastern sky - miles away over the water. Fair weather clouds. A pleasant day.

As you sit to worship, the pastor opens with a word of prayer, and worship songs are sung. You look around the room. You think of the mustard seed that grew into a huge tree. Something you read yesterday morning. You see just a small part of what you are certain is a much larger, global family of believers. All present seem to revere the task of worship as though it is the highest task attainable by man.

The pastor speaks. He preaches a sermon on the ever-enduring, ever-persevering love of Christ. In every sermon, he always brings it back to the good news of Christ's death and resurrection. His words are direct, but caring and fatherly. He calls out a blessing over all and dismisses you.

People begin to leave. Just then you hear some shouts. Someone is barking orders outside. The line of people leaving the church begins to slow, and comes to a complete stop. Two men with guns guard the exit to the church, while other men escort people out, one by one, separating husbands and wives into guarded buses. They tell you you're wanted for questioning as they pull your friend away from you. Uncontrollable tears flow down some people's faces, while some are staring blankly in shock. Cold eyes look on from all sides. Men in uniforms. Men with guns. There are no police to run to. There is no government to look to. This is the government and these are the police.

The busses pull out. As you look back through the bus windows guarded by the metal mesh cage, through the cloud of dust and smog spit out by the bus you see a few policemen lingering around the church like ants on candy. They talk to each other as though it's just another day at the office. You pray this isn't happening.

These are our brothers and sisters in Christ. 80 of them in Eritrea a week ago were arrested by the government for worshipping God.

We should be taking this personally.

The story is here.