Indonesia: 90,000 Soldiers to Guard Christians in 50,000 Churches for Christmas Services

Police stand near the scene of an explosion outside a church in Samarinda,
East Kalimantan, Indonesia on November 13, 2016.
(Photo: Antara Foto/Amirulloh/via REUTERS)

By Stoyan Zaimov

Christian Post

As many as 90,000 soldiers will be guarding more than 50,000 churches across Indonesia in an effort to thwart terror attacks during Christmas.

Francis Xavier Ping Tedja, security coordinator at Santa Maria Church, told UCA News earlier this week that 70 police officers and members of Banser — the youth wing of Nahdlatul Ulama, the largest moderate Muslim group in the country, will guard the church for Christmas services.

"We have coordinated with police, military, and Islamic groups to maintain the security, so that Catholics can attend Christmas masses comfortably and safely," Tedja said.

“We hope Catholics will not be afraid to attend Christmas masses at the church,” he added.

The church in Surabaya, East Java, was attacked by suicide bombers in May. The terrorists, linked with the Islamic State terror group, targeted three churches in the world's most populous Islamic nation, killing 18 people.

Father Antonius Suyadi, chairman of the Jakarta Archdiocese’s Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs Commission, added that the Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral Church in Jakarta will be secured by 300 police and military personnel.

“Besides the cathedral church, police and military forces will also guard other Catholic churches in the archdiocese,” Suyadi explained.

As police combat terrorist threats, the nation's leaders continue to work on reconciliation efforts that include terror attack survivors meeting face-to-face with people who've carried out bombings.

A three-day first-of-its-kind event was staged in March in Jakarta, where 124 convicted terrorists met 51 survivors of attacks and their family members.

One former Islamic radical who killed three people in 2002 spoke of his regret for what he did.

"I have repented and I will help the government educate others not to follow a radical path as I did," Mokhtar Daeng Lau said at the time.

Another man by the name of Sumarno, who took part in 2002 Bali bombings where Islamic radicals killed over 200 people, added: "I deeply regret what I have done. I did not expect that so many victims were our brothers and sisters."

"It's hard and saddens me to see survivors who are now suffering from permanent disabilities," the man added.

"I had not imagined the impact would be like that. I am sorry and have apologized to them."

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UK Official: Political Correctness Getting in Way as Christianity 'On Verge of Extinction from Birthplace'

All religious minorities must be protected and the evidence demonstrates that in some countries, Christians face the greatest risk.

Iraqi Christians pray during a mass on Christmas Eve at Church of Saint
Georgein Teleskof, Iraq, December 24, 2017 (Photo: Reuters/Ari Jalal)

By Stoyan Zaimov

Christian Post

Political correctness should not get in the way of action aimed at helping Christians on the verge of extinction in the Middle East, the U.K. Foreign Secretary has warned.

“Yesterday my family and I walked a short journey to our local church, and enjoyed an uplifting Christmas service. We attend as a simple matter of personal choice, but since being appointed Foreign Secretary, it has struck me how much we take that choice for granted: others around the world are facing death, torture and imprisonment for that very right,” Jeremy Hunt wrote in an op-ed published in The Telegraph and the U.K. government website on Wednesday, which was Boxing Day in the U.K.

Hunt pointed out that 100 years ago, close to 20 percent of the people in the Middle East were Christian, but various terror campaigns have pushed that number to below five percent today.

The U.K. politician mentioned a number of cases where Christians have faced severe persecution and even death for their faith in Jesus Christ, from instances in Egypt to Iraq and Pakistan.

The Islamic State terror group, in particular, has forced multitudes of believers to flee the region in the past several years, with many unlikely to return.

Hunt praised the U.K. government for long championing international religious freedom, but at the same time warned that it can do more to help Christians, particularly in the Middle East.

“I am not convinced that our response to the threats facing this particular group has always matched the scale of the problem, nor taken account of the hard evidence that Christians often endure a disproportionate burden of persecution. Perhaps this is borne out of the very British sense of awkwardness at ‘doing God’. Perhaps it’s an awareness of our colonial history, or because Britain is a traditionally Christian country some are fearful of being seen to help Christians in desperate need,” he suggested.

“Whatever the cause, we must never allow a misguided political correctness to inhibit our response to the persecution of any religious community.”

Hunt revealed that he has appointed the Bishop of Truro, the Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen, to lead a global review of the persecution of Christians, and examine in which areas the government can do more to help.

“With Christianity on the verge of extinction in its birthplace, it is time for concerted action that begins to turn the tide,” he said.

“It is not in our national character to turn a blind eye to suffering. All religious minorities must be protected and the evidence demonstrates that in some countries, Christians face the greatest risk.”

Major U.K. leaders, from Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby to Prince Charles, have long warned about the plight of Middle East Christians.

Earlier in December, the Prince of Wales spoke at a special service at Westminster Abbey, where he praised the "truly remarkable faith” of Christians in the Middle East.

“Time and again I have been deeply humbled and profoundly moved by the extraordinary grace and capacity for forgiveness that I have seen in those who have suffered so much,” Prince Charles said at the time, referring to number of Christians from the region he has met and spoke with.

He said that their commitment to their faith no matter the terrors they face demonstrates the “extraordinary power of faith to resist even the most brutal efforts to extinguish it.”

Website: Christian Post

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Persecuted Church in China Vows to Continue Gathering, Meet Christmas Day Despite Arrest of 100 Members

Despite persecution, the Christian population has grown steadily in recent years. There are now an estimated 100 million Christians in China, many of them worshiping in so-called underground churches.

By Leah Marieann Klett
Gospel Herald

Early Rain Covenant Church -- China's largest underground church -- has vowed to meet Christmas Day despite a recent crackdown which saw the arrest of 100 church members, including Pastor Wang Yi.

A member of Early Rain Covenant Church in Sichuan who did not want to be identified told the BBC that despite Beijing's stepped-up crackdown on independent religious practice, the church will continue to operate.

"We will continue the gathering. The church is shut down so it's impossible to have a big gathering, but there will be small gatherings on Sunday and on Christmas Day."

The church member added that ultimately, such persecution might even increase the profile of the faith in China.

"Without repression, people may doubt about our religion. But when repression occurs, pastors and members' reactions will make people who don't believe realize the charm of Christianity."Earlier in December, police raided the church and arrested Pastor Wang and his wife Jiang Rong. Over the following two days, at least 100 church members, including Wang's assistant, were also taken away.

The church member told the BBC that the lock on the church school had been broken, churchgoers' homes had been ransacked and some were "under house arrest or are followed all the time."

Both Wang and his wife have since been charged with state subversion, one of the most serious crimes against the state and a charge that carries a potential jail term of 15 years.
After he was detained, the church released Yi's statement explaining and defending his nonviolent resistance to China's "evil" and "wicked" rulers.

"I firmly believe that Christ has called me to carry out this faithful disobedience through a life of service, under this regime that opposes the gospel and persecutes the church," he concluded. "This is the means by which I preach the gospel, and it is the mystery of the gospel which I preach."

Police have accused Early Rain of operating without registering with authorities, as required by the updated Regulations for Religious Affairs. Churches which do not belong to the government-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic Movement and are illegal under Communist rule.
The Early Rain member who did not want to be identified said the idea of the Three-Self Patriotic churches was "hilarious", saying they "don't spread genuine gospel, but spread the thoughts of loving the Party, loving the country".

Another Christian in Chengdu told the BBC such churches were "against Jesus, against gospel."

Website: Gospel Herald

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Another 60 Christians Arrested from Chinese Church Where 100 Were Already Detained

Early Rain Covenant Church in China Photo: Facebook/ Early Rain Covenant Church

By Stoyan Zaimov
Christian Post

Another 60 members of the underground Early Rain Covenant Church in Chengdu, China, were arrested this past Sunday, in an ongoing crackdown against the Protestant congregation.

Police have reportedly been attempting to force churchgoers to pledge to leave the church.

This time, according to World Magazine, the arrests took place at a park where the congregation had decided to meet, due to the church building being shut down in a previous raid earlier in the month when 100 worshipers were detained.

The church members had been praying and reciting part of their Catechism, reading: 

“What is your only comfort in life and death? That I am not my own but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.”

Several other Christians who met at a separate location in the field of a nearby university were also taken by police.

As ChinaAid noted, the church's pastor, Wang Yi, has been charged with "inciting subversion of state power."

Some of the 100 Christian leaders and students who were arrested earlier in December had to leave their children unattended. A prayer letter released by the church after the arrests claimed that at least three believers who were detained by the Communist Party authorities had been tortured.

Photos of the injuries from the alleged torture have since emerged online, showing bruises and others signs of beatings that the Christians suffered.

One church member, who wished not to be identified, told BBC News that the lock on the church was broken, some of the churchgoers' homes were ransacked, and a number of believers were "under house arrest or are followed all the time."

"On Sunday, some members tried to gather at other places for worship but got taken away as well. The Church building has been manned with police and plain-clothes officers, not allowing anyone to enter to do worship service," the church member added.

She revealed that police have also been pressuring congregants to sign documents asking them to leave the church and take their children out of its Bible school.

Several other underground churches have been shut down this year, with both Catholic and Protestant congregations heavily targeted by the administration of President Xi Jinping. Video footage from this year shows Communist officials severing crosses from church buildings and demolishing churches altogether.

Wang had written a letter in the event that he would be taken by Chinese Communist authorities. It was released last week.

In it, Wang expresses how he is “filled with anger and disgust at the persecution of the church by this Communist regime, at the wickedness of their depriving people of the freedoms of religion and of conscience."

The Early Rain Covenant Church pastor said that following the Bible, he accepts and respects “the fact that this Communist regime has been allowed by God to rule temporarily."

“At the same time, I believe that this Communist regime’s persecution against the church is a greatly wicked, unlawful action. As a pastor of a Christian church, I must denounce this wickedness openly and severely,” he added.

“The calling that I have received requires me to use non-violent methods to disobey those human laws that disobey the Bible and God. My Savior Christ also requires me to joyfully bear all costs for disobeying wicked laws.”

Website: Christian Post

Persecution Unveiled has been called to prick the consciences of this nation and all free people to pray for, speak up and act on behalf of those who are persecuted for their faith. Follow us on Pinterest, and Google and like us on Facebook.

Two Christian Brothers Sentenced to Death for Blasphemy in Pakistan, Charity Warns

A Pakistani soldier keeps guard at the Friendship Gate, crossing point at the
Pakistan-Afghanistan border town of Chaman, Pakistan, March 7, 2017
. | Reuters/Saeed Ali Achakzai/Files

By Samuel Smith

Christian Post

Two Christian brothers have reportedly been sentenced to death in Pakistan after one of them was accused of posting content deemed disrespectful of Islam on their website. The United Kingdom-based charity Centre for Legal, Aid, Assistance & Settlement has raised alarm about the sentencing of Qaisar and Amoon Ayub.

The group explained that the death sentences were handed down last Thursday by Judge Javed Iqbal Bosal after a hearing in a Jhelum jail in the Punjab province.

The brothers, who are from the city of Lahore, were arrested in 2014 after the reopening of a police case stemming from a 2011 allegation. Qaisar had previously explained that he closed down the webpage in question in 2009. However, he claims one of his Muslim friends restored the webpage.

The accusation of blasphemy was made after Qaisar got into an argument with his friends at work. Qaisar then began receiving death threats and went into hiding. Both Qaisar and Amon eventually fled to Singapore before returning after one month, according to Asia News.

Although they would return, they would soon flee again to Thailand because the situation was still not safe for them. As the brothers spent years on the run, they were told that police were looking for him. In Pakistan, blasphemy is a crime that is punishable with the death penalty or life in prison.

Qaisar is married with three kids, while Amoon is married to a teacher.

CLAAS plans to appeal Qaiser's death sentence to the Lahore High Court Bench at Rawalpindi, while the American Center for Law & Justice's Pakistan office is handling the appeal for Amoon. CLAAS asserts that in many blasphemy cases, judges are “under threat from religious fanatics” to “convict those accused of blasphemy.”

“This is a very unfortunate situation as because of threats from hardliners lower courts pass their responsibility to the higher court and then it takes years to prove the accused innocent,” CLAAS Director Nasir Saeed said in a statement.

“We have seen this in the recent case of Asia Bibi, who was similarly convicted by the lower court and it took her years to reach to the Supreme Court to get justice. I am afraid now Qasir and Amoon will have to wait years to get justice.”

After spending over eight years on death row, Bibi, a Christian mother of five, was acquited by a three-judge panel of the Pakistan Supreme Court in October. Because of that decision, thousands of radical Muslims protested in cities across the country calling for the death of Bibi and the death of the justices who acquitted her. A deal was eventually struck with a hardline Muslim organization for the Supreme Court to review Bibi’s acquittal before allowing her to flee the country.

International human rights activists have long called on Pakistan to reform its blasphemy laws, which are regularly abused by Muslims to settle personal scores with religious minorities. The Pakistani government is facing continued pressure.

Last week, the U.S. State Department designated Pakistan a “country of particular concern” for religious liberty. The CPC designation applies to countries where the government “has engaged in or tolerated systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom.”

The CPC designation gives the U.S. government the potential to enact sanctions or diplomatic measures to pressure change in Pakistan and the nine other countries on the list.

Over the summer, the U.S. and 14 other nations signed onto a “statement of concern” that condemned blasphemy and apostasy laws throughout the world as often being used “as a pretext to justify vigilantism or mob violence in the name of religion, or as a false pretense to settle personal grievances.”

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Town Ignores Atheists' Warnings, Keeps Christian Cross in Christmas Lights Display

A blue-lit cross stands erect as part of a Christmas light display at Finley
River Park in Ozark, MO December 2018. (Photo: Facebook/Ragan Thompson-Sartin)  

By Samuel Smith
Christian Post

To the delight of many Christians, a town in Christian County, Missouri, has reversed its decision to take down an illuminated cross from its Holiday display.

Many residents voiced their outrage when, under pressure from the Wisconsin-based atheist legal group the Freedom From Religion Foundation, the city of Ozark announced on Tuesday that it would no longer include the giant blue-lit steel cross in its Christmas light display at Finley River Park even though it has been included in the display for years.

The decision was made after Ozark administrator Stephen Childers received a letter on Nov. 30 from FFRF legal director Rebecca Markert arguing that the cross display violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on the grounds that it amounts to a government endorsement of a religion.

The town issued an initial statement in response to the FFRF's complaint in which officials agreed that having the cross on public property was a violation of the First Amendment. The town also said that leaving the cross on public property would “result in a lawsuit that we will not win.”

“While we respect the interests of those who have long enjoyed the holiday display in Finley River Park, we must acknowledge the federal Constitution and its interpretation by the U.S. Supreme Court,” the statement read. 

This letter has brought a concern to our attention and we cannot ignore the First Amendment which protects freedom of speech, protects freedom of the press, protects the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and prohibits the government from making laws or taking actions that may promote or prohibit one religion over another.”

But later that day, the town updated its statement and assured residents that the cross will continue to be part of the holiday display as the city looks into FFRF’s legal claims.

“We released a press release earlier with the facts as they have been presented to us thus far,” the statement reads. “As the day unfolded and citizens commented on this topic, we have determined that in the best interest of all parties we shall continue working through the legalities of the situation. Therefore, the cross in the Finley River Park will remain in place until a further due diligence can be completed regarding this matter.”

According to the Springfield News-Leader, Mayor Rick Gardner received “hundreds” of phone calls, text messages and other communications from members of the Ozark community following the town’s initial announcement. One person reportedly told Gardner that the cross “is a part of Ozark” and “this is Christian County, for Pete's sake."

Gardner took to Facebook to sound off about FFRF’s demand Tuesday.

“The controversy about the lighted Cross in the park is not over,” Gardner said. “The cross is NOT down and will be [lit] tonight. We have heard your thoughts and agree with them. We are now assessing all our options for addressing this situation. Stay tuned.”

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