Soul and Spirit

Christians in Pakistan

Religious Intelligence (UK) reports:

New Muslim-Christian violence in Pakistan

A FRESH outbreak of Muslim-Christian violence has been reported in Pakistan as the country faces political uncertainty.

Two villages have faced attacks with Muslims using mosques to broadcast calls for attacks on Christians.

The first incident took place in Govind village, near Lahore, according to Christian campaign group Release International. They claim that Muslims there objected to prayers being relayed through loudspeakers at the village church and used rival loudspeakers at seven mosques to broadcast a call to war against Christians

HT: WorldMagBlog

Even Christian People

I decided to Google that word string after hearing (or reading) it somewhere two or three days ago.

For Web sites, in the top ten out of 2210 results, are . . . .

Calvin College

The research shows that even Christian people have the perception that Christian higher education is substandard—even some of our alumni think that.

J. Dudley Weaver

Oregon is 49th, next to the bottom, among the states of the Union in church attendance. While Oregonians may not be particularly church-going people or even Christian people, we are, nevertheless, rather spiritually oriented people.

Cherryvale (KS) Church of Christ

Whatever are your troubles and problems, being unable to go to church is probably not one of them. It may not be something you think would cause you to weep or be depressed at all. And indeed, it is true that many people, even Christian people, are thankful for any excuse to give them cover for not going to church.

And for blogs, in the top ten out of results, I found . . . .

The Lake County Lutheran

We do put people, even Christian people, on pedestals in small and large ways, and of course, this misses the point entirely.

Bethesda Daily Life

Working with people (even Christian people) can be a challenge. We are to be patient with each other. How many people (not counting yourself) do you know who like to argue, like to quarrel, and seem to enjoy being difficult?

New Vineyard

In a previous post (August 6, 2007), I reflected on the idea that the true Gospel is in complete opposition to many values people almost universally consider correct and normal (even Christian people). By the standards of the world, they (that is the teachings of the NT and their resultant values) must actually be considered insane. (The word usually used by the politically correct is eccentric.)

Veterans I Know

May there be many more to stand in their place in the ranks!

William Bennett asks, “Do you know our heroes?”

That fits with a thought I had yesterday.

I personally know a few military veterans. One of them is Mark Hammerness. He and they are to be commended and thanked for serving their country.

But the veterans I have in mind are from a different type of war.

Missionaries

  • James and Noreen Roth — Mexico
  • Rosana Roth — Mexico, Puerto Rico
  • Karen Roth — Mexico
  • Marvin and Esther Boss — Mexico
  • Joe and Nancy Mast — Mexico
  • Raul and Vanita Tadeo — Mexico
  • John and Doris Miller — Mexico
  • Vince and Marcela Frey — Mexico
  • Larry and MaryAnn Taylor — Mexico
  • Elmer and Sheila Fehr — Central America, Mexico
  • Paul and Dorcas Smucker — Canada
  • Steven and Judy Headings — Puerto Rico
  • Mark and Enid Boss — Canada, Nigeria
  • Maurice and Jane Boss — Canada
  • Orpha Tice Smucker — Puerto Rico
  • Maynard and Helen Headings — Honduras, Mexico
  • Vivian Mast Turner — Mexico
  • James Kropf — Mexico
  • Urie and Delilah Sharp — Guatemala
  • Allen and Carolyn Roth — Nicaragua
  • Delbert and Joana Birky — Belize

School Teachers

  • Noreen Byers Roth
  • Rosana Roth
  • Margaret Miller
  • Shari Kropf Roth
  • Esther Strubhar
  • Dwight Strubhar
  • Ron Bontrager
  • Dorothy Turner
  • Caroline Smucker Yoder
  • Esther Slaubaugh Wolfer
  • Brenda Beachy Sauder
  • Kathryn Schrock
  • Lavon King Kropf
  • Danny Hertzler
  • Nolan Bechtel
  • Mary Strubhar
  • Geneva Allan Yoder
  • David Strubhar
  • Philip Smucker
  • Pat Turner
  • Emily Goertzen
  • Orpha Tice Smucker
  • Jonathan Kropf
  • John Smucker
  • Johanna Goertzen

Pastors

  • Maynard Headings
  • Sterling Roth
  • Raúl Vázquez
  • Manuel Torres
  • Stanley Troyer
  • Joe Mast

And (as far as I know) they’re all alive yet!

Thank you all for your service on the field of battle for the Kingdom of God! Happy Veteran’s Day to all of you.

May there be many more to stand in their place in the ranks!

Important Note: I listed only those who are no longer serving in those particular capacities.

On the Vaccination Front

OK, three articles to point you to — all from the same site.

Why, just because I thought you should know. 🙂

Adults Beware — New Vaccine Guidelines Released:

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, a division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has released the 2007-2008 recommended immunization schedules for adults in the US.

The schedule includes 11 different types of vaccines for adults, including….

[…]

Vaccinations of all kinds hit you right at the core of your fears, no matter what vaccine we’re talking about.

[…]

But getting back to the vaccines, Big Pharma may appear idiotic, but they are no fools. They know people want guaranteed safety. “Here, take this shot and nothing bad will happen to you,” they say. And a lot of people believe them, even when evidence of the opposite comes out. They just want the magic pill to be true.

Some hard-hitting evidence released just a couple of months ago should make anyone think twice about the flu shot: flu vaccines have NEVER been proven to prevent flu-related deaths in people over age 65, which is one of the primary groups for which they’re recommended.

You may also be shocked to learn that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grossly distorts the facts about flu deaths. If you go to the CDC’s main flu page, you’ll see their statistic that about 36,000 people die from the flu in the United States each year.

But if you search a little harder, you can find the actual number of people who died from the flu in 2005 (this is the most recent data that’s available). Want to take a guess at what it is?

In 2005, 1,806 people died from influenza, not 36,000.

[…]

How to Prevent the Flu Naturally

Then there’s this one on children’s shots and exemptions and education and stuff:

Growing Number of Parents Use Religion to Avoid Vaccines

Many states are seeing increases in the rate of religious exemptions from vaccinations claimed for kindergarteners, according to a review of states’ vaccination records and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted by the Associated Press.

A growing number of parents are claiming religious exemptions to avoid vaccinations for their children because they are skeptical of the shots’ effectiveness or are concerned about potential side effects, including autism.

The number of parents choosing not to vaccinate is still small, as only a few thousand children were not vaccinated, compared with 3.7 million vaccinated, among children who entered kindergarten in 2005.

[…]

More parents are clearly starting to understand that vaccinations are not a miracle cure-all that will keep their children from getting sick. Instead, they are seeing the truth: that vaccines carry the risk of serious side effects, including autism.

[…]

The topic of vaccinations is always emotional for both sides of the camp. People who have not done their research are quick to say that it is ignorant to avoid vaccinations. However, this is quite the oxymoron because mothers with college educations and higher incomes are those who are LESS likely to vaccinate their children.

[…]

The trend toward not vaccinating has been growing for some time now. One study found 93 percent of pediatricians and 60 percent of family physicians said at least one parent had refused a vaccine for their child in 2003. Also, 69 percent of the physicians said that the number of concerns from parents had increased significantly.

What’s your stance on vaccinations?

(I’m leery of them.)

Did the Soviets Do This?

When they hosted the Olympics?

Bibles banned from 2008 Olympic village

Chinese officials have announced athletes who compete in the 2008 Beijing Games will be banned from having Bibles in their Olympic village housing, and even visitors are being warned not to bring more than a single Bible with them when they come to China.

According to a report from the Catholic News Agency, Bibles will be among the list of “prohibited objects” for athletes at the Beijing housing complexes being built now for the thousands of athletes expected to participate.

“According to the Italian daily La Gazzetta dello Sport, organizers have cited ‘security reasons’ and have prohibited athletes from bearing any kind of religious symbol at Olympic facilities,” the report said.

Also banned will be video cameras and cups, the report said.

Bibles, religious symbols, and video cameras — I can understand how the Communists would feel insecure about them.

But cups?

Update: Thursday, November 15

China denounces Games “Bible ban” report

China reacted angrily on Thursday to reports in the European press that the government would ban Bibles during next year’s Beijing Olympics, saying it could not possibly be true.

Reaching North Koreans

Though I wouldn’t endores all the tactics and philosophies employed, I’m sure this man and those he trained have done much for those whom Jesus loves: people.

(The headline “bothers” me, especially if it reflects reality.)

South Korean missionaries spread political message in the North

For years, under the leadership of Choi Kwang, a hard-driving missionary from South Korea, North Koreans seeking refuge in China were taken to apartments where they were put through a rigorous training course in Christianity that began daily at 6 a.m. and continued until 10 p.m. The trainees repeated out loud the words of an eight-hour-long tape recording of the New Testament.

Before taking breaks for meals, Choi and the North Koreans would embrace and pray: “Let’s spill Jesus’s blood in North Korea! Let’s become martyrs for North Korea!”

By 2001, when his underground proselytizing network was broken up by the Chinese police, Choi had turned about 70 North Koreans who had come to him in search of food and shelter into missionaries. At least five of them are believed to have been executed in North Korea. At least six others are thought to be in North Korean prison camps.

Launching balloon Gospel messages to North Korea

Although North Korea’s Constitution, on paper, provides for freedom of religion, in reality religious expression is tightly restricted. Schoolchildren are taught that religion is the “opium of the people” and that missionaries are “a tool of imperialism.” North Koreans who have met with missionaries have been sent to prison camps, according to human rights groups.

Major Christian groups in South Korea have raised millions of dollars to deliver food, medicine and clothing to the North and to build or renovate hospitals, schools and churches there. These groups believe that good will builds trust and helps North Korea open up, a strategy favored by President Roh Moo Hyun of South Korea.

But many politically conservative Christians in South Korea reject this approach. Instead they dispatch missionaries to northeastern China, where they evangelize among North Korean refugees. They also operate smuggling networks to smuggle North Koreans out, and spread the Gospel into the North via balloons and radio broadcasts.

“You cannot expect North Korea to change from the top,” said Yu Suk Ryul, chairman of Cornerstone Ministries International. “The best way to change North Korea from the bottom is to spread the Gospel.”

Cornerstone supports underground churches in North Korea by way of ethnic Korean-Chinese traders, who supply Christians there with “mini-Bibles” translated into a North Korean dialect, as well as financial assistance and other goods. The group says that it supports more than 1,000 underground cells in North Korea, and that the number is “growing fast,” Yu said.

Cornerstone also releases plastic bags filled with Christian messages and sweets at sea, with the intent that they wash ashore in the North.

If This Were Mohammed

I saw a product picture in a catalog the other day.

The item is cute.

But sacrilegious. (Relax, though, I have no violent plans.)

Here’s a similar item I found on the Web:

Cat Nativity

What would the “Arab street” do if this were a comparable Islamic scene including Mohammed?

With Islam expanding as it is, maybe toy makers will tap into that market . . . .

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Above all, love God!