News Update - 8/23/2010

North Korean police reportedly raided a house in Kuwal-dong in Pyungsung county, Pyongan province, and arrested all 23 believers who were gathered there for religious activity. The leaders were sentenced to death and soon after executed. The other 20 were reportedly sent to the infamous prison labor camp No. 15 in Yodok.

The 23 Christians had come to faith after some of them travelled to China on business and met with church members there. An estimated 40,000 to 60,000 Christians are currently in prison labor camps in North Korea because of their faith. Persecution watchdog Open Doors has ranked North Korea as the world’s worst persecutor of Christians for eight years in a row.

Religion Today Summaries

Tanzanian Court Acquits Two Evangelists of Illegal Preaching
A Tanzanian court yesterday acquitted two evangelists of “illegal preaching.” After 10 months of hearings, a Kariakoo area court in Dar es Salaam closed the case against Anglican Christians Eleutery Kobelo and Cecil Simbaulanga, who were arrested in October 2009 after Muslims invited them to participate in a religious debate at which the opponents did not appear, but authorities did.

The two evangelists maintained that no Muslims showed up to the neutral site of the supposed inter-faith debate until Islamists arrived with government security agents who charged them with “using religious sermons to incite Muslims and Christians into viewing each other with suspicion.”

Kobelo told Compass by telephone that the Muslims failed to show up in court to support their allegation of illegal preaching. After the verdict, Christians shouting for joy greeted the evangelists as they left the courtroom, he said. “We are grateful that the court has done justice and made its ruling based on Tanzania’s constitution that allows for freedom of religion and assembly,” Kobelo said. “We thank the Christians worldwide for praying for us and Compass for highlighting our plight.”

Simbaulanga said the message of Christ’s atoning death and resurrection cannot be stopped. “The court decision will make us preach the gospel more vigorously, and many Muslims will turn to Christ,” he told Compass. “Muslims tried to stop the movement, but nobody can stop the Gospel.”

Institute on Religion and Public Policy

Russians Pray for Rain as Churches Collect Aid
The Russian Orthodox Church is praying for relief from the heat and drought that has gripped Russia for two months, as one archbishop condemned some retailers for profiteering from the extreme weather conditions. In a pastoral letter released on Aug. 1, Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church had called for continuous prayers and special church-wide collections.

In Voronezh, a region hit by some of the worst forest fires that have swept across Russia, Metropolitan Sergius held a prayer service on Aug. 9 to beg God for rain. The Russian Orthodox Church has raised more than $200,000 for victims of the fires and draught, the Moscow Patriarchate’s website said.

Smog generated by the fires enveloped Moscow for more than a week, exacerbating the impact of the heat wave that has suffocated the Russian capital since June. Priests at Moscow churches without air conditioning said that despite the heat and smoke the number of worshippers had not declined beyond the usual summer drop-off. “People are not complaining,” the Rev. Sergei Rybko told Interfax.

Religion Today Summaries

Christians Called to Pray for Muslims during Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Muslim calendar during which Muslims observe the Fast of Ramadan. Dates for Ramadan 2010 are August 11 through September 9, and many Christian groups are calling for Christians to remember to pray for Muslims during this time.

PersecutionBlog.com, run by Voice of the Martyrs, encourages Christians to “please begin to pray for the Muslim world as they begin their fasting, and pray that the Lord Jesus would continue to draw Muslims to Himself, as He has been doing in these last days.”

Violent demonstrations against Christians commonly increase during Ramadan.  “During this time of spiritual severity, however, many have miraculous visions of Jesus and put their trust in Him,” says Carl Moeller the President of Open Doors USA. “This is why it is so urgent for Christians to be united in prayer throughout Ramadan.”

To equip Christians to pray for Muslims, Open Doors USA is offering the Ramadan Prayer Calendar. The calendar has multiple prayers points so Christians can pray for Muslims around the world during the 30 days.

Religion Today Summaries

Epic Pakistan Flooding Called “Worst in Living Memory”
The United Nations reports that as many as 1,600 people are reported dead and another 14 million have been affected by massive flooding in Pakistan’s Indus River valley. As the heavy rains continue to fall, devastation and despair once again seem to have taken hold among the peoples of Pakistan. Stranded by floodwaters, many are grieving loved ones who have died while worrying about how they will care for their living.

Roads are blocked, and bridges destroyed. Landslides continue to threaten homes. In at least one area, residents do not expect electricity to return for weeks, according to reports out of the area. Cooking oil is scarce. Diesel for trucks and generators is gone, and hope that a new supply will arrive anytime soon is slim.

This year’s monsoon rains, which began July 22, have been vicious, relief officials said. “These are unprecedented floods in a country whose people can ill afford more tragedy and hardship in their lives. Many of those affected by the flooding are still reeling from Taliban fighting in their areas,” said Francis Horton, who with his wife, Angie, directs work in Central and South Asia for Baptist Global Response, an international relief and development organization.

Of the 14 million who’ve been affected, at least 1.4 million of them are children, according to an Aug. 9 U.N. report. About 1.8 million of those 14 million are homeless. “Needs are higher than those that followed the 2005 earthquake, and far more widespread across the country,” the report said. “Shelter is the most urgent need, while food, water, and health care are also crucial.”

Baptist Press