Jos, Nigeria: Death toll hits 48

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Two pastors and 46 other Christians have been confirmed killed in the outbreak of violence 10 days ago in Jos, Plateau state in Nigeria, according to the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

In the Muslim/Christian clash, triggered when Muslim youths on Jan. 17 attacked a Catholic church, 10 church buildings were burned and 27 Christians are still missing, CAN officials said at a press conference in Jos.

Police estimate over 300 lives were lost in the clash. The Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) accused the state General Officer Commanding, Major-Gen. Salleh Maina, and some soldiers of taking sides in the clash.

“Soldiers were seen in some parts of Jos watching Muslim youths shooting Christians and burning places without any efforts to stop them,” according to a PFN press statement.

Nigeria: Christians in Jos, fear further attacks

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Gunshots and smoke continued to alarm residents of Jos in central Nigeria today, January 19, with the Christian community fearing further violence from Muslim youths who on Sunday (Jan. 17) attacked a Catholic church and burned down several other church buildings.

A 24-hour curfew imposed yesterday in Jos and the suburb of Bukuru by the Plateau state government was extended through Wednesday. Police said continuing violence was initially triggered by unprovoked attacks by Muslim youth on worshippers at the St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Nasarawa Gwong, in the Jos North Local Government Area.

Also attacked were buildings of the Christ Apostolic Church, Assemblies of God Church, three branches of the Church of Christ in Nigeria and two buildings of the Evangelical Church of West Africa, Christian leaders said. The number of casualties continued to grow, reportedly reaching more than 100 as security forces tried to rein in rioters, with both Christian and Muslim groups still counting their losses.

Hundreds have reportedly been wounded. “We have been witnessing sporadic shootings in the last two days,” said the Rev. Chuwang Avou, secretary of the state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria. “We see some residents shooting sporadically into the air. We have also seen individuals with machine guns on parade in the state.”

Indonesian Theology Students

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Indonesian Theology Students Withstand Threats, Illness
Seminarians resist eviction from former municipal building as they await decent relocation.

Some 1,000 seminary students are resisting efforts to evict them from the former municipal building of West Jakarta where they have taken refuge after Muslim protestors drove them from their campus last year.

On Oct. 27 officials began evicting about 300 students of Arastamar Evangelical Theological Seminary (SETIA) from blocks I and II of the former mayoral building, but those in blocks III, IV, and V chose to remain.

The students, some of whom had sown their mouths shut as part of a hunger strike, asserted that new quarters offered by the Jakarta Provincial Government are not yet fit for occupancy – dirty and unkempt with broken windows and doors. They said the property offered, the North Jakarta Transmigrant building, has not functioned since 1999, and its five buildings accommodate only 200 to 300 students.

The seminary students said that unidentified mobs have threatened them, telling them to leave the former municipal complex immediately.

“They threaten us and tell us that if we do not move, our safety cannot be guaranteed,” said SETIA’s Yulius Thomas Bilo.

The Rev. Matheus Mangentang, rector of SETIA, confirmed that the threats had been made. Asked about the identity of the mobs, he said he knew only that they appeared daily to intimidate and threaten students.

“We are going to move as soon as possible – Dec. 31 at the latest,” Mangentang said. “If we don’t, the place is no longer safe.”

He added, however, that they would not move until their new location was clear.

“We have not wavered in our desire to return to our own place, because we actually have our own campus in Kampung Pulo, East Jakarta,” Mangentang said.

The Jakarta Provincial Government has not allowed the students and staff to return to their campus, citing fear of more violence.

“It is not permissible for them to return to Kampung Pulo; conditions are not conducive,” the Jakarta area secretary who goes by a single name, Muhayat, said.

In July 2008 hundreds of protestors shouting “Allahu-Akbar [“God is greater]” and brandishing machetes forced the evacuation of staff and students from the SETIA campus in Kampung Pulo village. Urged on by announcements from a mosque loudspeaker to “drive out the unwanted neighbor” following a misunderstanding between students and local residents, the protestors also had sharpened bamboo and acid and injured at least 20 students, some seriously.

Water and Electricity Crisis
Conditions for the 1,000 students living in the former West Jakarta mayor’s complex are worsening.

“Since the end of October, we have had no electricity and no water,” said Alexander Dimu, head of the student senate. “We have to depend upon our own resources and donations to buy water. We need about US$100 per day for water.”

Our correspondent noted hundreds of students lined up to obtain water for bathing and drinking. They used old buckets to carry water to the bathrooms, which were badly in need of repair.As a result of such living conditions, many students have diarrhea and hemorrhagic fever.
“So far, six have fever and 17 have diarrhea,” Dimu said. “Those who are ill have been taken to a nearby hospital.”

A number of students have quit school, according to Mangentang, as their parents were worried about the health conditions. The average SETIA student is from outside Jakarta. They come from Nias Island, East Indonesia, Borneo and other areas. Their families are largely farmers.

“The parents have millions of expectations as to how they can help the children of their home villages after graduation,” said Mangentang.

The ultimate destination of the students is still unclear. The Jakarta Provincial Government has stood firm in ordering them to move to Cikarang, West Java, about 90 kilometers (56 miles) from Jakarta. At the same time, the SETIA Foundation has requested the government find a new campus venue within Jakarta to avoid the difficult process of obtaining permits in the new provincial jurisdiction of West Java.

After SETIA staff and students met on Nov. 16 with several members of Parliament at the former mayoral office, the MPs led by Education Committee Vice Chairman Heri Ahmadi promised to ask Jakarta Gov. Fauzi Bowo to return them to their campus at Kampung Pulo with the necessary security.

Mangentang said that he was still waiting for the members of Parliament to make good on that pledge.

The visit by the parliamentarians brought an end to a hunger strike by five students who had sewn their mouths shut at the former mayoral complex on Nov. 9. They were identified only as Yanisar, Leonardo, Mutari, Demas and Epy. That act followed a protest by the student council from Oct. 27 to Nov. 3.

Two units of heavy machinery had begun tearing down part of the main building where the 1,000 students are housed. Some of the students staying there were previously evicted from the Bumi Perkemahan Cibubur (BUPERTA) campground.

SETIA spokesman Yusup Agustinus Lifire said the seminary is awaiting word from the Jakarta governor’s office about their returning to their campus at Kampung Pulo.

“We submitted an official letter to the governor, the police chief of Greater Jakarta and the military chief of Greater Jakarta on Oct. 28, but so far there is not any reply for us,” Lifire said. “We would like to leave this building if we could find a new place. It is not certain if the students began to attack and throw stones at police officers on Oct. 27-28 when they began demolishing one of the buildings. There were some provocateurs who started to throw some stones at police officers, then the officers threw the stones at the students and vice versa.”

Lifire also said the Jakarta governor’s office should take responsibility for the crisis. SETIA has asked the governor to guarantee security for a return to their original campus or else prepare or provide a new venue, he said.

A female student of Christian Education said there is a banner at the original campus that reads in Bahasa, “If you dare to return, we will wipe you out.”

By Samuel Rionaldo and Edi Mujiono

Characteristics of a Zealous Man

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A zealous man in religion is pre-eminently a man of one thing. It is not enough to say that he is earnest, hearty, uncompromising, thoroughgoing, wholehearted, fervent in spirit. He only sees one thing, he cares for one thing, he lives for one thing, he is swallowed up in one thing; and that one thing is to please God.

Whether he lives, or whether he dies
whether he has health, or whether he has sickness
whether he is rich, or whether he is poor
whether he pleases man, or whether he gives offence
whether he is thought wise, or whether he is thought foolish
whether he gets blame, or whether he gets praise
whether he get honour, or whether he gets shame
for all this the zealous man cares nothing at all.

He burns for one thing; and that one thing is to please God, and to advance God’s glory. If he is consumed in the very burning, he cares not for it – he is content. He feels that, like a lamp, he is made to burn; and if consumed in burning, he has but done the work for which God appointed him.

Such a one will always find a sphere for his zeal. If he cannot preach, work, and give money, he will cry, and sigh, and pray. . . If he cannot fight in the valley with Joshua, he will do the work of Moses, Aaron, and Hur, on the hill (Exodus 17:9-13).

If he is cut off from working himself, he will give the Lord no rest till help is raised up from another quarter, and the work is done. This is what I mean when I speak of ‘zeal’ in religion.

J. C. Ryle

Recovering realities 06

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06.

Carrying a cross

Reading: 2 Cor 12:9, Eph 4:20-21, Rev 5:6

Those who want to learn Christ do so by carrying a cross. A man in search for a life lived in service and in the fear of the Lord has to take on a cross. Life is found by the man who has made himself ready for the loosing of life and then undergoing the loss under the hand of the Lord. Anyone who dares to allow the cross to be an operative factor in his life will be made able to translate, to convey life to other men. Along this road to life the assimilation and accumulation of pleasing and soothing thoughts and a constructing of doctrinal statements is of meager value. This road is meandering into eternity through one testing and molding experience after the other, each one with its own content and meaning.

Those who want to learn Christ will inevitably find the ways of the Lord to be summarized in the conundrum of the cross. If God, in all his overwhelming glory, could be summed up from a human standpoint, the result would at every point crystallize within the realm of the cross. To come alongside him in his omnipotence and wisdom equals being confronted by the reality of perfect servanthood in a tender spirit of sacrifice. God is there, always and ever as a servant, always and ever to provide life through sacrifice, always and ever at work at the core of his creation in the wisdom of the Lamb. Grace, life and salvation reaches its fullness in this weakness. The cross is the wisdom of God, the cross of Christ is the power of God unto salvation.

If we were able to look into Heaven as John saw, we would immediately recognize the Lamb. One would immediately be made able to perceive as Heaven does – a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain. The intrinsic nature of the glory, this eternal shekinah light, rests over and in all there is in Heaven with its absolute origin and center in the sacrificial disposition of God. The mind of Christ, this mind, this mindset which constitutes godliness is brought to fullness and practical interpretation through a daily taking on of the cross. A handling of the regular everyday life with this perspective brings Heaven to Earth. The wisdom of the Lamb bends away from the wisdom of the world, confronts it and overcomes it.

We do not need more power or enhanced capability but we need a deeper death. God’s cause reaches its fullness and perfection in our weakness. God’s way is a narrow path. The straightest passage towards the goal of the Lord is a passage meaning constriction. Out in open space, amidst pressure and restriction, words are turned into life – but only there. One who forgets, even rejects the taking up of the cross delivers a false testimony – his life will display a lack of authenticity. Learning Christ holds a partaking of Christ for the sake of being made able to share what is obtained in that fellowship, sharing the life found at His feet. The cross demonstrates the mind of God, it presents the nature of God. Defending oneself against a daily carrying of the cross is to defend self against God. A taking up of the cross is to take part of the mind and the ways of Christ, taking part of life itself, a formation for the sake of ministering the life of Christ.

Our prayer-life, our inner life ought to be imbued with a “Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth” to open up for the glory of God to begin shining here as it does in Heaven.
Our prayer-life, our inner life ought to embrace the cross as the way to life to counteract the moral and spiritual irresponsibility in our societies and cities.
Our prayer-life, our life lived in fellowship ought to take hold of the cross for the sake of mobilizing a people standing together in integrity amidst a common, well-established dodging of critical issues.
Our prayer-life, our inner life ought to aim at installing the reality of the cross of Christ to recover a testimony concerning the true values of life.

The Lord requires discipleship: “The one losing his life on account of Me shall find it – he shall find real life.”

Lars Widerberg

Indonesia: Worship shut down

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Several Islamic organizations have pressed officials in a sub-district near Indonesia’s capital city to forbid Jakarta Christian Baptist Church to worship in a house, resulting in an order to cease worship.
The Islamic Defenders Front, the Betawi Forum Group, and political party Hizbut Tahrir have told officials in Sepatan sub-district, Tangerang district, near Jakarta that worship activities cannot be conducted in a residence.

The house belongs to the Rev. Bedali Hulu. Both District Officer Ismet Iskandar and a sub-district officer support the closure and have ordered Hulu to use his home only as a residence, the pastor said.
The sub-district officer, who goes by the single name of Rusdy, has sent a notice ordering an end to all worship at the house. “But they have not put forth a solution,” Hulu said.

“For a long time we have suggested that we build a place of worship, but there has been no response from the local government.” Church members feel terrorized by mobs that have stopped services, the pastor said.

IRAN: Two women stand firm

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In March, officials incarcerated Maryam Rustampoor and Marzieh Amirizadeh in one of Iran’s worst prisons. Their health has deteriorated in the harsh conditions.
“Neither one are in good health,” reports Todd Nettleton with Voice of the Martyrs. “They both have had health difficulties since they’ve been in prison.”

Nettleton explains that there is a “method to the madness” of forcing these believers to endure horrible circumstances.
“The goal of the justice system there, using the term ‘justice’ very loosely,” he explains, “is to pressure them and force them and make them so miserable that they will deny their faith in Christ and return to Islam.”

On March 5, Rustampoor and Amirizadeh were accused of “acting against state security” and “taking part in illegal gatherings.” Currently they are incarcerated at Evin Prison, known for its notoriously harsh treatment of prisoners. Maryam and Marzieh share a cell with 27 other women; illness is spreading rapidly in the prison, VOM states.

According to a recent VOM report, Marzieh and Maryam are suffering from sore throats, irregular painful stomach aches, and intense headaches. Marziah needs prayer for a critically-infected tooth.
“Right now, they’re simply treating her with pain medication instead of treating her with anything that would fight the infection,” says Nettleton. “There’s a very real fear that the infection could spread and cause even more trouble for her.”

These women have stood boldly for Christ in many interrogations and trials. Click here to see details of the August 8 interrogation. In that case, both women were ordered to deny their faith in verbal and written statements. Standing firm, they both declared, “We love Jesus. We will not deny our faith.” They have been sent back to prison to await the judge’s verdict.

“The judge is basically saying ‘OK, well we’ll send you back to prison and try to make you so miserable that in fact you will take a different course and you will decide to renounce your faith.,” Nettleton interprets.

He says prayer and urgent action are both needed to make a difference in this situation.
“Obviously, we need to pray specifically about their health, and particularly I think for this toothache. The Lord could touch and bring healing in a dramatic way, and I think that would be an incredible testimony to their faithfulness and to the fact that God is in control and is working through this situation.”

“You can literally send an e-mail to his office and say ‘Listen, Maryam and Marzieh are not a threat to the Iranian government. They’re simply two ladies who want to follow Jesus Christ, and they should be released.’”

Nettleton also urges believers to write letters of encouragement to Maryam and Marzieh. In doing so, “they’ll know that people around the world haven’t forgotten them,” he says.  “They’re part of our family…and their family around the world remembers them and is praying for them.”

Pakistan: Christians attacked

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It was just a rumor. But among the radical Muslims in Pakistan’s Gojra village, a rumor was enough of an excuse to kill.

When the rumor was broadcast from the loudspeakers on the minarets of local mosques, it became fact. As part of a wedding ceremony, the loudspeaker shouted, Christians tore pages from a Quran. Then they compounded the disrespect by walking on the shredded pages.

“Defend Islam!” The loudspeaker called. Muslims answered, rampaging through a Christian section of Gojra on Aug. 1. Eight Christians were killed, including women and children. More than 100 Christian homes were burned by a mob. The mob, which was estimated to be more than 20,000 people, also burned a church.

Five Hours Without Help
Emergency personnel did not reach Gojra for more than five hours. Christians were forced to use vegetable carts to move their dead and wounded to the hospital.

Responding to an international outcry, Pakistani government officials have now said no Quran was desecrated. The government promised to help rebuild the burned homes of Christian families.

Even before the government acted, contacts of The Voice of the Martyrs were in Gojra, offering comfort to the wounded and praying with the families of the dead. They continue to aid the village, including helping with some medical expenses, offering encouragement and pressing for a forceful government response.

Pray Blasphemy Laws Are Overturned
Christians in Pakistan hope these attacks can be a turning point. They are praying to God and pressing their government to overturn unjust blasphemy laws that are often a pretext to attack Christians.

They are also asking us to pray with them.
Pray for Christians in Pakistan to be bold witnesses for Christ, despite threats.
Pray for those wounded and left homeless by the brutal Gojra attacks.
Pray for Muslims to come to know Jesus Christ in a personal way.

One accord

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The unanimous, the concerted and concordant prayer aims at expressing a corporate burden, a corporate testimony of the heart of God.

A burden received from Him who operates world affairs by prayer is not an isolated issue – something which stands by itself – but reveals the brokenness of God, the crucified God. A burden apprehended and admitted from this eternal source causes much aggravation and agony, but holds final fullness at its core. The accepting of a calling to priestly ministry to be expressed corporately, to be expressed as concordant prayer will accomplish much according to the purpose of God.

Remember; one man alone, or woman – lonely as she might be, standing with God in his burden is of greatest significance in the developments towards God’s ends.

Lars W.

Iran: Authorities tighten grip

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AUTHORITIES TIGHTEN GRIP ON CHRISTIANS AS UNREST ROILS

Waves of arrests hit church networks; judge asks converts from Islam to recant.

More than 30 Christians were arrested in the past two weeks near Tehran and in the northern city of Rasht. Two waves of arrests near Tehran happened within days of each other, and while most of those detained – all converts from Islam – were held just a day for questioning, a total of eight Christians still remain in prison.

In Rasht, eight Christians belonging to the same network were arrested on July 29 and 30 in two separate rounds of arrest. Seven were released, while one, a male, remains in the city’s prison. And on Sunday (Aug. 9), two Christian women appeared before a judge who asked them if they would deny their newfound faith and return to Islam, reported the Farsi Christian News Network.

Maryam Rostampour, 27, and Marzieh Amirizadeh Esmaeilabad, 30, have been held in the notorious Evin prison since March 5 accused of “acting against state security” and “taking part in illegal gatherings.” As both women refused to recant their faith, the judge sent them back to their prison cells “to think about it,” according to a source who spoke with family members.

“When they said, ‘Think about it,’ it means you are going back to jail,” said the source. “This is something we say in Iran. It means: ‘Since you’re not sorry, you’ll stay in jail for a long time, and maybe you’ll change your mind.’”