Religious leaders sign “Commitment to Global Peace”
Religious leaders sign “Commitment to Global Peace”The statement includes 11 promises to work for global peace, education and the abolition of nuclear weapons, among other things.
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Oregon Pastor Banned from Meeting with Public School Students
(AgapePress) – A minister has been barred from visiting Oregon students at their school during lunch breaks.
Jason Rhoads is a Nazarene pastor from Portland. Rhoads had been meeting with students in the Molalla River School District for more than a year, until he was asked to stop when a parent complained.
Attacks on Christians in eastern Indonesia resume
28 September 2000 (Newsroom) — Dozens of Christians have been killed in renewed attacks by extremist Muslim warriors in Indonesia’s eastern province of Maluku. At least 32 people died in an attack on the Ambon island village of Hative Besar, according to news reports.
High Profile Prisoner Released, but Others Arrested in China
Zhang Rongliang, also known as David Zhang, is at large in China despite receiving a three-years’ hard labor sentence in December 1999. Reliable reports from central China say he was able to buy himself out of jail. But Born Again movement leader Xu Yongze remains incarcerated, despite having completed his three-year sentence on March 15, and 10 more house church leaders were arrested in southeast China in May.
Episcopal Church Ultimatum: Bishops Must Start Ordaining Women or Face Disciplinary Action
(AgapePress) – Three conservative bishops in the Episcopal Church have been given an ultimatum. They have been ordered to start ordaining women into the priesthood or face disciplinary action.
Two churches hit with bomb attacks in India
Bomb blasts damaged two churches in India’s southern Karnataka state over the weekend as Christians across the nation staged marches and rallies to protest sectarian violence.
Man accused of killing missionary to seek public office in India
Hindu militants in Orissa have announced that the man accused of masterminding the brutal killings last year of Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons will be the chief minister candidate of their newly formed political party in the eastern state.
Christians in Laos forced to recant their Faith
Christians in Laos continue to suffer persecution from a government crackdown on believers, and they cannot visit friends or travel freely because the secret police follow them every everywhere. Some have been forced to recant their faith.
Fewer Christians Imprisoned in Laos
Reports from Laos say the number of Christians held by the government has dropped in recent months. Although the Lao Constitution provides for freedom of religion, the government continues to restrict the right to practice religion.
Six missionaries beaten during gospel campaign in India
Six Christian missionaries participating in a gospel campaign called “Love Ahmedabad” were beaten so savagely in the state of Gujarat last week that one of the men may lose his arms and legs.
Six More Chinese House Church Leaders Arrested and Sentenced
Five house church leaders from the “Born Again” movement of Xu Yongze were arrested at their homes in China’s southern Henan province on December 27, 1999. Each was sentenced in February to two years hard labor, according to reliable sources inside the province. Another full-time evangelist — not with the same movement — was arrested in Guiyang and also given two years hard labor. Relatives asked that the names of those sentenced be withheld.
Mongolia gives local Christian 13-year Prision Sentence
A Mongolian citizen of ethnic Kazakh descent has been sentenced to 13 years in a prison labor camp in western Mongolia on charges of propagating the Christian faith.
Turkey releases jailed Christian after 30 days
Two Turkish Christians imprisoned near Izmir for a month on concocted charges of insulting Islam were ordered released March 30, after prosecution witnesses admitted that local gendarmarie officials pressured them to sign prepared complaints.
Prosecutors deny Vietnamese Protestant’s appeal of prison sentence
Prosecutors in northern Vietnam rejected an appeal by a Protestant who was sentenced to prison in December for “interfering with an officer” while she hosted a Christian meeting.
Two Turkish Christains Jailed
Two Turkish Christians arrested March 1 while selling and distributing Christian literature near the southern port city of Izmir were refused bail today, pending a court hearing scheduled for March 30.
Saudi Arabia Once Again Leads the World in Christian Persecution…As Well As Oil Production
Saudi Arabia has once again taken the dubious distinction of being the country where Christians are more severely persecuted than any other in the world. This was revealed in the January 2001 release of the Open Doors “World Watch List” (WWL), which ranks countries according to their level of Christian persecution.
Turkmen Baptist Pastor Threatened with Prison
Baptist pastor Rahim Tashov and a colleague were hauled into police headquarters in their hometown of Turkmenabad (formerly Chardjou) last Thursday, February 3.