Every Monday evening thousands gather in front of Dresden’s Opera House carrying German flags and singing nationalist songs. One protester said he fears German traditions are being eroded by Muslims. Elsewhere violent attacks and hate speeches are exploding against asylum seekers. Der Spiegel reported a threefold increase in attacks compared to the same period last year. Last Friday night about a thousand people demonstrated in Heidenau against an expected arrival of refugees. The police intervened with tear gas grenades. The refugees are creating a kind of German martial law, where it has been necessary to use schools, gymnasiums and campsites as temporary accommodation centres. The attacks against refugee centres in Germany are so strong that Google deleted a map showing their locations, fearing hate crimes. On Wednesday a converted Christian migrant in a refugee centre was severely beaten up by an Afghan man, who declared that his conversion to Christianity was ‘a sin’.

Viktor Orban urged European leaders to change their immigration policies and involve voters in a debate about the continent's future; otherwise they face a political crisis. Hungary built a steel fence along its borders with Serbia and Croatia that was meant to turn migrants back from Europe, not divert them along a different path to Germany. Orban articulated his party's hard line against the tide of immigrants on state television. He said that European leaders had no mandate to let hundreds of thousands of migrants enter the EU with little or no control and destabilise Europe, saying, ‘We need to start the debate about the future of our continent honestly, without the muzzle of political correctness, without pretence, talking straight. The further migrants travel from their troubled countries, the more difficult it will be for them to return. They must remain in their region and humane conditions must be created for them there.’

Last year saw the highest number of Bibles ever distributed globally by bible societies. Nearly 34 million Bibles were handed out, a 6% rise on 2013; that’s 428.2 million Scriptures distributed. The figure includes full Bibles, Testaments, Gospels and other smaller scripture items. The Americas have reported the highest rates of distribution, with 341.5 million Scriptures, including 14.4 million full Bibles. Brazil gave out more than any other country - 7.6 million full Bibles; it is thought that this was boosted by the many thousands distributed during the FIFA World Cup. Cuba gave away 1.5 million - more than double the total distributed in 2010. The Bible Society reported that more than five times the number of Testaments were distributed in Syria in 2014 as before the conflict began, in 2010.

The Iranian church is growing with increased momentum, as daily reports indicate. Despite persecution, Iranian Christians are courageously preaching Christ. More than one million Scriptures have been distributed to Iranians since 2003. Believers are involved in regular evangelism, and report that most receive the Scriptures with joy. Christian TV, beamed into Iran by satellite, is reaching private living rooms of families that otherwise may never hear the Gospel. The response is significant, with thousands responding to programmes every month. Although satellite dishes are banned, an estimated 28 million people have access to satellite TV (dishes are hidden in the lofts of houses). The official Churches in Iran are closely monitored by the government, so believers meet in house churches, mostly with eight to twelve members. For security reasons, they are forced to multiply once they reach about twelve people. This helps spread the Gospel even more.