China: Investing in confident Christians
Three decades ago, China's Cultural Revolution saw some of the most dramatic restrictions on the practice of religion ever seen. But today's communist rulers have radically altered their views about religion and have granted substantial freedom to Christians prepared to worship within state-sanctioned churches. Within these boundaries, Christianity is growing in China as never before - and doing so supported by millions of dollars of government funding. On the outskirts of Nanjing, a building site illustrates the scale of the communist state's commitment to supporting the development of Christianity. Local officials say that the building under construction will become China's largest state-sanctioned church - with space for 5,000 worshippers. It represents just one example of the strategy to encourage the development of religion in China. Praise: God for this growth of His Church in China but also remember the huge numbers of Christians meeting in house churches still faceing persecution. (Zec.8:12)
China: Investing in confident Christians
Three decades ago, China's Cultural Revolution saw some of the most dramatic restrictions on the practice of religion ever seen. But today's communist rulers have radically altered their views about religion and have granted substantial freedom to Christians prepared to worship within state-sanctioned churches. Within these boundaries, Christianity is growing in China as never before - and doing so supported by millions of dollars of government funding. On the outskirts of Nanjing, a building site illustrates the scale of the communist state's commitment to supporting the development of Christianity. Local officials say that the building under construction will become China's largest state-sanctioned church - with space for 5,000 worshippers. It represents just one example of the strategy to encourage the development of religion in China. Praise: God for this growth of His Church in China but also remember the huge numbers of Christians meeting in house churches still faceing persecution. (Zec.8:12)
China: Christian faith plus Chinese productivity
At first glance, it looks as though it could be any other factory driving the rapid development of the Chinese economy. But this is no ordinary enterprise because here religious faith is as important as profit. In fact, the owner of the Boteli Valve Group in Wenzhou would like to see all his staff convert to Christianity. And such a factory is not a one-off: it is part of a growing number of businesses run by Christian entrepreneurs whose success is now being studied by the Chinese government. Every Monday morning, the senior managers gather together and pray about the business. Once a week, members of staff are encouraged to attend an on-site Christian fellowship meeting, where they read the Bible and pray for each other. Praise: God for this development and pray that this example would lead to many more. (Mt.25:20)
China: Christian faith plus Chinese productivity
At first glance, it looks as though it could be any other factory driving the rapid development of the Chinese economy. But this is no ordinary enterprise because here religious faith is as important as profit. In fact, the owner of the Boteli Valve Group in Wenzhou would like to see all his staff convert to Christianity. And such a factory is not a one-off: it is part of a growing number of businesses run by Christian entrepreneurs whose success is now being studied by the Chinese government. Every Monday morning, the senior managers gather together and pray about the business. Once a week, members of staff are encouraged to attend an on-site Christian fellowship meeting, where they read the Bible and pray for each other. Praise: God for this development and pray that this example would lead to many more. (Mt.25:20)
Cuba: Church leader released
A respected Cuban church leader who was unexpectedly arrested and tried in court last week has been cleared of all charges after his accusers gave contradictory evidence against him. According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Reverend Roberto Rodriguez, was allowed to return to his family and is recuperating at home after being found not guilty of ‘threatening behaviour.’ The pastor was forced to hitchhike from Cardenas to Santa Clara. They arrived at 1am and the following day travelled to the town of Placetas, in Central Cuba, where Rodriguez stood trial on 2 Sept. Prosecutors recommended that Rodriguez be given a one-year prison sentence, following what CSW called the contradictory evidence given by his accusers, the tribunal had no choice but to find him not guilty, although the court handed down a fine to the church leader. Praise: God for justice and the release of Rodriguez. (Am.5:24)
Cuba: Church leader released
A respected Cuban church leader who was unexpectedly arrested and tried in court last week has been cleared of all charges after his accusers gave contradictory evidence against him. According to Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), Reverend Roberto Rodriguez, was allowed to return to his family and is recuperating at home after being found not guilty of ‘threatening behaviour.’ The pastor was forced to hitchhike from Cardenas to Santa Clara. They arrived at 1am and the following day travelled to the town of Placetas, in Central Cuba, where Rodriguez stood trial on 2 Sept. Prosecutors recommended that Rodriguez be given a one-year prison sentence, following what CSW called the contradictory evidence given by his accusers, the tribunal had no choice but to find him not guilty, although the court handed down a fine to the church leader. Praise: God for justice and the release of Rodriguez. (Am.5:24)
Atheist doctors
Doctors who are atheist or agnostic are twice as likely to take decisions that might shorten the life of somebody who is terminally ill as doctors who are deeply religious. Doctors with strong religious convictions are less likely to discuss such decisions with the patient, according to Professor Clive Seale, from the Centre for Health Sciences at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry. Doctors are influenced by their beliefs just as other people are, said Seale. ‘It is easy for clinicians to present themselves as neutral appliers of science, but values do come into it,’ he said. That is accepted in abortion care, but the issue has not yet been widely discussed in the care of the dying. Seale's study, published in the Journal of Medical Ethics, was based on a survey of doctors specialising in care for people at the end of life, such as neurology, elderly and palliative care as well as general practice. Pray: for doctors, carers, patients and close family as they work together to care for the terminally ill. (3Jn:8) More: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/aug/26/doctors-religious-beliefs-terminally-ill
Britain 'selfish and hedonistic'
Edmund Adamus, an adviser to the Archbishop of Westminster, said five decades of liberalising abortion and gay rights laws had made Britain more anti-Catholic than countries where Christians can be subjected to violent persecution. The director of pastoral affairs in the diocese of Westminster blamed Parliament for allowing the country to become ‘the geopolitical epicentre of the culture of death’. His remarks are likely to cause tension ahead of the Pope's state visit to Britain later this month. He said ‘ Britain, and in particular London, has been and is the epicentre.’ The expression ‘culture of death’ is often used to refer to liberal policies on abortion and euthanasia. He added that Parliament over the last 50 years had been ‘the most permissively anti-life and progressively anti-family and marriage, in essence one of the most anti-Catholic landscapes, culturally speaking, more even than those places where Catholics suffer open persecution.’ Pray: for God’s guidance as we weigh these cautionary comments. (1Co.14:29)
Religion more important in poor countries
Surveys conducted by Gallup in 2009 revealed that religion plays a greater role in the daily lives of people in poor countries than those in wealthy countries. The number of adults worldwide who say religion is an important part of their day remains high, at 84 per cent. The surveys, which looked at 114 countries, found a strong link between religiosity and a country’s socioeconomic status, with each of the most religious countries having a per-capita GDP of less than $5,000. In the UK, just 27% agreed that religion was important to their daily life, placing it in the bottom 10 alongside Russia (34%), France (30%), Hong Kong and Japan at 24%, Denmark (19%) and Sweden at (17%). There were 10 countries and regions where at least 98% of people said religion was important to their daily life, including Bangladesh, Niger, Yemen, Indonesia, Malawi and Sri Lanka where the figure was 99%. Pray: for the richer nations - that their peoples’ poverty of spirit may be filled with your presence. (Job 3:20)
Call for debt cancellation for Pakistan
The Jubilee Debt Campaign is calling on the British government to exert pressure on international institutions to cancel Pakistan's debt. The Pakistani government is currently in negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the country’s most important creditor, to ask for debt relief for the disaster-stricken country. The IMF is believed to be insisting that Pakistan introduces a value-added-tax system and removes energy sector subsidies in order to receive further loans. A range of charities, church and campaign groups, including the Methodist Relief and Development Fund and Christian Aid, have joined the call for Western borrowers to take some responsibility for Pakistan's heavy indebtedness. They argue that Pakistan needs an immediate freeze on debt repayments, expressing fears that the country's annual $3 billion repayments dwarf current levels of emergency aid. Campaigners argue that it is inappropriate for the IMF to hold the country to ransom amidst the current disaster. Pray: for governments and the IMF to review their stance and grant debt relief to Pakistan. (Dt.24:6)