NIGERIA: Islamic and secular laws clash in Senate
Many Nigerians are enraged, wondering how a senator notorious for marrying a 14-year-old girl can use Shariah law as an excuse to filibuster a constitutional amendment that has sparked a debate on the age of consent for girls. Since the country's secular and Islamic laws clashed in the upper house of Parliament last week, concerned citizens are using petitions, protests and social networks to demand the Senate revisit the issue. ‘Every Nigerian should bow his or her head in shame because instead of crushing the head of the lustful beast that seeks to fornicate with our children, to steal their virtues and to destroy their future, what the Senate did the other day was to compromise with and cater for the filthy appetites and godless fantasies of a bunch of child molesters and sexual predators,’ Femi Fani-Kayode (a traditional chief and former Cabinet minister) fumed in a letter to The Vanguard newspaper on Monday.
Pray: for the age of consent to remain at 18 in Nigeria and an end to the practice of forcing underage girls into marriage. (Jer.22:16-17)
More: http://www.kwqc.com/story/22902103/islamic-and-secular-laws-clash-in-nigerias-senate
USA: Mainline churches no longer support Israel
At a conference in Washington where thousands of Christians met to Support Israel Texas Senator Ted Cruz said he and other Christians need to do a better job of explaining why support for Israel helps protect the USA and if the U.S. won't stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons Israel will. He added that the U.S. should support Israel unequivocally and Christians should pray that the Palestinians would renounce violence. New York Rabbi Shlomo Riskin referred to Jews and Christians as God's children and grandchildren and thanked the thousands of mostly evangelical Christians attending the summit for demonstrating God's love. Executive director of Christians United for Israel, lamented that America's mainline churches no longer support Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the group on Wednesday by satellite.
Pray: that more people would recognise the danger for Israel as the winds of war blow across the Middle East. (Jer.31:9-11)
More: http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/shows/cwn/Religion-Roundup/#1
World: How some financiers view the British Isles
Some excerpts from an American Financial Report - ‘In 2005 we began warning about Britain’s dangerous debt burden. The Financial Times and Daily Mail couldn't refute our research but they weren't ready to accept the enormity of its conclusions.’ And ‘Despite David Cameron’s talk of austerity he’s going to add an estimated £700 billion to the national debt in five years. That’s more than Tony Blair and Gordon Brown added to the national debt in eleven years.’ Looking at UK finances as a whole the Coalition isn’t cutting anything. State spending, national debt and interest payments are all going up. By 2015 UK national debt is estimated to be almost £1.4 trillion.’ Wednesday 24th July’s Guardian reported, ‘the debt to GDP ratio in the Eurozone has reached a new record of 92.2% as high unemployment, tumbling trade flows and a prolonged recession in the single currency bloc take their toll. - The UK's ratio is the seventh largest in the EU, at 88.2%, level-pegging with Spain.’ Source: ukpublicspending.co.uk
Pray: for the UK’s bankers, financiers, commerce and industry leaders humbly to know God’s way forward and wisely and honestly to appraise 2013’s financial challenges. (2Ch.7:14)
Central Africa Republic: Seleka v Christians
CAR is 76% Christian. The Seleka rebels who seized power in an orgy of violence earlier this year are Arabic-speaking Muslims. Their victims are Christian. Despite their poverty the rebels wear brand new military uniforms, drive new pickups and brandish new weapons. Amongst their number are janjaweed from Darfur, Sudan, and jihadis from Mali and Northern Nigeria. The following are extracts from a recent letter Bangui Blog. ‘Since the ‘Seleka’ coalition took power our country has regressed by a century. Everything has been destroyed, devastated and plundered. Total insecurity rules. We don't sleep at night because of sporadic shooting. They are everywhere in the town and drive at great speed with heavy weapons in their vehicles. Their number is estimated to be 20,000 men. Can you imagine? It is total anarchy and hysteria.’ Christian organisations looted by rebels are attempting to provide help, See: http://www.christiantoday.com/article/bible.society.office.ransacked.in.central.african.republic/33282.htm
Pray: for governments to step into this humanitarian emergency and for NGO’s to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves. Pray that the rights and needs of the poor will be met. (Prov.31:8-9 & Mat.25:45) More:
http://elizabethkendal.blogspot.com.au/2013/05/central-african-republic-car-churches.html
Syria: Assistance needed for victims
Epic refugee crisis, brutal Christian persecution and international involvement has brought Syria into turmoil. The war has killed 100,000, displaced over 1.5 million and 6,000 are fleeing daily. The UN has not seen a refugee outflow escalate at such a frightening rate since the Rwandan genocide 20 years ago. Syrian rebels frequently target Christian believers for attack. Religious freedom activist, Nina Shea, reported a shadow war being fought against the Syrian Church. The ‘going price’ for a kidnapped Christian believer is $200,000 USD. The war is spreading beyond Syria. The Pakistani Taliban sent 120 fighters, with another 150 men arriving shortly. Lebanon's Hezbollah also sent forces to aid the rebels. Israel's military is preparing for war along its border with Syria. Two people died in Turkey from stray bullets and Turkey returned cross border fire - marking the most significant outflow of violence to date. See also http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-23332527
Pray: for God’s protecting presence to envelop innocent victims against every force of darkness (2 Sam.22:3-4) and wisdom for world leaders striving to broker peace between the regime and the rebels (Prov.2:6)
Indonesia: increasing intolerance against Christians
The Muslim majority province of Aceh is led by Zaini Abdullah. He has based his political fortune on the ‘full application’ of sharia. Jakarta demands the governor respect religious plurality; meanwhile Christian leaders are denouncing violence and persecution by the Islamic community. Seventeen house churches and Catholic chapels have been closed recently and many believe the forced closure of places of worship and threats against Protestant congregations will only create tensions manipulated from the outside between the Christian and Islamic communities. Indonesia is the most populous Muslim nation in the world and, while guaranteeing the constitutional principles of religious freedom, it is more and more often the scene of attacks and violence against minorities - whether they are Christians, Ahmadi Muslims or of other faiths. Despite this, the Christian church in Indonesia has grown rapidly in the last 20 years.
Pray: for the government to guarantee religious plurality and respect and pray against clashes and violence. (Ps.7:6)
Churches condemn u-turn on alcohol pricing
The Government has broken its pledge to introduce a minimum unit price for alcohol. The Church of England, the Methodist Church, the United Reformed Church, the Salvation Army and Quaker Action on Alcohol & Drugs are deeply disappointed that the Government has abandoned this vital policy. Jeremy Browne, the Minister for Crime Prevention, has said minimum unit pricing will remain 'under consideration'. But his claim that there is not enough 'concrete evidence' to implement it flies in the face of five years of medical research. There were over 1.2 million alcohol-related hospital admissions in 2011-12 in England, and the cost to the NHS was £3.5 billion. The total bill to the taxpayer caused by alcohol misuse, including crime and lost productivity, is currently £21 billion. James North, Policy Advisor for the Methodist Church, said: "The Government's failure to introduce minimum unit pricing for alcohol will cost lives. As Churches we are deeply concerned at the effect of alcohol misuse on problem drinkers, families and communities.
Pray: for all those affected by alcoholism and that any government policies adopted will have a significant impact on this problem. (Pr.20:1)
More: http://www.methodist.org.uk/news-and-events/news-releases/churches-condemn-u-turn-on-alcohol-pricing
Religion told to halt weddings over gay rights
The future of traditional Indian weddings in Britain is in doubt because of the fallout from gay marriage passing into law, it has emerged. Sikh temples have been advised to halt all civil marriage ceremonies on their premises to protect them from possible legal challenges for refusing to conduct same-sex weddings. It is the first example of a religious group altering its marriage practices to avoid potential litigation based on equalities or human rights law. Other groups, including the Church of England, the Roman Catholic Church and the orthodox Jewish organisation United Synagogue, also resisted the legislation, but they have not indicated that they will go as far as to surrender their marriage licences. Lord Singh, the director of the Network of Sikh Organisations, told the House of Lords that he feared opponents of same-sex marriage would be “coerced” into accepting the new legal definition of marriage. The network also advised members that it believes faith groups could end up being “bullied” into conducting same-sex marriages.
Pray: for all faiths groups to be able to be free to conduct marriages according to their beliefs and not feel pressured to abandon marriage services.. (Ps.25:21)
More: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10192578/Religion-told-to-halt-weddings-over-gay-rights.html
STOP PRESS: Important Prayer Request for Birmingham
Many will have seen and read that there is a planned demonstration by the right-wing English Defence League in Birmingham on Saturday and a counter demonstration by those opposed to their views. At Trumpet Call 2013 we prayed for the Midnight Oil conference (www.midnightoilsummit.org) which is happening in Birmingham in the same part of the city centre from today until late on Saturday. The team at World Prayer Centre invite you to pray both for Birmingham and for Midnight Oil in the next days: for peace in the city over this weekend and particularly on Saturday - for the West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council - for the Midnight Oil Summit: That God’s will be done as they gather and that God’s plans are not hindered - for the Prayer gathering planned to take place in Centenary Square during the demonstrations.
More: http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/latest-news/press-release.asp?ID=4932
Malala's bravery: ‘Taliban will not silence me’
Marking her 16th birthday, Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teen who was shot by members of the Taliban last year and survived, addressed the United Nations on Friday. She told a UN Youth Assembly, ‘They thought that the bullet would silence us, but they failed.’ Malala, a student in Pakistan who had been known for speaking out for children and women's educational rights, was shot in the head by a Taliban member while she was in a vehicle on her way to school. Amazingly, after extensive surgery in the UK, she recovered; this was Malala's first public speech since the attack. The courageous young woman presented UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon with a petition signed by 3 million people, calling for support from the UN for educational rights of children around the world.
Praise: God for the living testimony of this young lady; may she be an example to many. (Ph.3:17)