Is Germany’s Refugee Crisis a Muslim Mission Field?

A three million-strong Christian denomination says a “strategic mission” to convert Muslims goes against “the spirit” of JesusUp to one million Refugees are expected to arrive in Germany by end of this year, hoping to gain asylum in the European Union's largest country.
Many are arriving from Muslim-majority Countries, Including Syria, Afghanistan, and Iran. But while German churches Have Been eager to materially support the Refugees, Christians are not on the same page About sharing the Gospel With newcomers.
One prominent denomination has Claimed in a position paper trying to evangelize Refugees That is unchristian, reports Religion News Service. "A strategic mission to Islam or Muslims to convert them meeting Threatens social peace and contradicts the spirit and mandate of Jesus Christ and is THEREFORE Firmly to be rejected," Said the Evangelical Church of the Rhineland in a paper Entitled "Pilgrim Fellowship and Witness in Dialogue with Muslims, ACCORDING TO RNS.
A About three million of denomination, the Evangelical Church of the Rhineland is one of twenty Lutheran, Reformed and United Protestant groups That Make up the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD). According To The most recent figures, 23 million Germans are part of EKD, Whose numbers consistently Have Declined in recent years.
German Evangelical Alliance General secretary says Hartmut Steeb That evangelism is an essential part of the response to Refugees.
"We declare the missionary Firmly That critical task of Christians, to preach the Gospel Namely of Jesus to others and invite them to follow it, can not be Given Up," I Told RNS.
Barbara Rudolph, WHO leads the ecumenical department of the Evangelical Church of the Rhineland, Die Welt That Told her church's stance is a "modern interpretation of missionary work."
Part of the strategy is asking members of the Church to live lives That impress would-be Christian Converts.
"We want to live in a way others That Makes Curious about our faith," She Told RNS. "Whoever wants to Become a Christian can be Baptized."
Also pointed to Rudolph Recommendations signed by the World Evangelical Alliance, the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Vatican in 2011.
"If Christians engage in Inappropriate methods of exercising mission by resorting to deception and coercive Means They betray the gospel and Suffering May cause to others," it states. "Such departures call for repentance and remind us of our need for God's grace Continuing."
That issue is complicating the Muslim Refugees Have a political incentive to convert.
At Least Two Countries in the asylum-seekers are fleeing Afghanistan-Iran and converting to Christianity is punishable by death.
That Refugees May wager they're less likely to be sent back to Their Countries Should They convert birth. After all, many are not allowed to stay.
"In recent years, roughly 40% to 50% from Two Countries Have Been Those allowed to stay in the country, with many of Those getting only temporary permission to REMAIN," Reported RNS.
This is not only true in Germany.
In 2013, Sweden was Accused of denying refugee status to Iranian religious Christians and sending them back to Their home country. (CT Also NOTED When Lutheran bishops in Sweden controversially priests Advised not to baptize asylum seekers Who Had converted to Christianity over fears That This Could Increase Their likelihood of Being Persecuted if They Were sent back.)
In Berlin, Where Have Hundreds of Muslims converted to Christianity at an evangelical church, Pastor STI acknowledges some That May Have Their faith political motives behind decisions. (CT first profiled His ministry in 2012. The Wall Street Journal Also offers an in-depth look and the Associated Press report this video.)
"I know there are-again and again-people coming here Because They have some kind of hope Regarding Their asylum," Trinity Pastor Gottfried Martens Told the Associated Press. "I am inviting them to join us Because I Know That whoever comes here will not be left unchanged."
Relations Between Christian and Muslim Refugees Have Been contentious. One Iranian Christian convert was beaten by an Afghan Man Who Reportedly esta saw change as sinful, ACCORDING The Express. Have Also German police unions called for religiously segregated housing, reports The Washington Post.
Christians Have Been prevented us from using asylum center kitchens and harassed for not praying, Martens Told Die Welt.
"[The Christians] ask the question: What happens when the devout Muslim Refugees leave the refugee center, we must continue hiding ourselves in the future as Christians in This Country?" I Said.
Some European churches downplayed Have Their Christian identity in deference to the Refugees They are assisting. One German church That will be hosting 50 Refugees STI will move chairs, pulpit and font, reports the Express. Earlier This Year, to top bishop in the Church of Sweden instructed churches in her diocese to remove crosses.
Previously Offered CT two perspectives on Allowing Muslims to worship in churches. Also Offered Ed Stetzer have five practical ways for Christians to reach out to westernized Muslims.
There are instances religious agencies Where Have taken advantage of people in a vulnerable position, wrote Theos, a Christian think tank in the United Kingdom, Earlier This Year.
"The vast majority of religious voices are clear That there is no justification for making the provision of aid or assistance conditional on expressing religious beliefs. .... It's right to acknowledge vulnerability, Which will be a more or less Important consideration Depending on the context, but an approach Which 'vulnerable-ises' will result in a failure to take proper account of spiritual needs. "
Elsewhere in Europe, Croatia's Christian leaders Have Reached out to The Nearly 30,000 Refugees Who Have entered.
"God's Given us an amazing opportunity," Teanna Sunberg, NCM communications coordinator for Central Europe, Said. "He's Brought the Muslim world to our doorstep."
CT's past coverage of Germany interviews includes with a cabinet member in Chancellor Angela Merkel's government About evangelical political engagement, a German church planter WHO Studied under Tim Keller, and a Berlin-based journalist who says That Martin Luther Would Have driven MOST of Germany's bishops from Their Pulpits.
CT has NOTED Also why the refugee crises Makes for a beautiful gospel witness, as well as how Jordanians are meeting the needs of Syrians hailing from the worst crises since the Rwandan genocide.

WORLD CHIRSTAIN NEWS: Cristiano, conozca a Confucio

WORLD CHIRSTAIN NEWS: Cristiano, conozca a Confucio: Los evangélicos algunas veces sospechan de la filosofía oriental, viéndola como una importante cosmovisión rival del cristianismo. Greg Ten...

Cristiano, conozca a Confucio

Los evangélicos algunas veces sospechan de la filosofía oriental, viéndola como una importante cosmovisión rival del cristianismo. Greg Ten Elshof, catedrático de filosofía en la Universidad Biola, quiere contrarrestar esta mentalidad, por lo menos al tratarse del más prominente filósofo chino en la historia. En Confucio para los Cristianos: Lo que una visión del mundo chino antiguo puede enseñarnos acerca de la vida en Cristo (Confucius for Christians: What an Ancient Chinese Worldview Can Teach Us about Life in Christ [Eerdmans]),Ten Elshof examina cómo la tradición confuciana puede arrojar nueva luz a la teología cristiana y a las enseñanzas sobre la moralidad. Derek Rishmawy, pastor de estudiantes y adultos jóvenes en California, platicó con Ten Elshof sobre el libro.

¿Qué tipo de creencia es el Confucionismo? Y ¿Por qué los cristianos deberían poner atención?

Es cuestión de gran controversia académica si el confucionismo es una religión, como el islam, o una filosofía, como el estoicismo o el aristotelianismo. Ya sea religión o no, es una de las grandes tradiciones de sabiduría sobre los grandes interrogantes de la vida. Estudia el camino para el crecimiento en el contexto personal, interpersonal, y político, y el cómo situarse uno en el mundo. Ya que ha sido sumamente formativo por gran parte de la historia humana, amerita esmerada atención.

¿Qué distingue a Confucio de Aristóteles?

Las similitudes sobrepasan las diferencias. Ambos se interesaron en la formación de gente buena, no obstante ambos se opusieron a una lista categorizada de conducta correcta. De la persona buena, la conducta buena brota naturalmente. Confucio, sin embargo, es más claro en la distinción entre virtud y un “buen estilo de vida”. Aristóteles analiza algunas virtudes morales, no obstante Confucio visualiza una vida atractiva y expresa completamente las capacidades humanas, incluyendo virtudes morales.

Tú recalcas las percepciones confucianas que pueden perfeccionar la fidelidad cristiana. ¿Cuál es la más urgentemente pertinente para los cristianos del Occidente moderno?

En una palabra, es relacionalidad. El Occidente contemporáneo tiene esta idea común de la persona como una unidad autónoma, una entidad en sí misma: Nosotros creemos ser individuos independientes que podemos escoger entrar en relaciones para mejorar nuestras vidas.

Eso es extraño para la forma de pensar confuciana. El confucionismo recalca el significado de las relaciones para comprender quiénes somos, nuestro lugar en el mundo, lo que debemos hacer, y lo que se perfila como la buena vida. Si hay un lugar donde la tradición confuciana puede ayudar a corregir la mentalidad del Occidente contemporáneo, es aquí.

¿Cómo puede este énfasis en relaciones impactar la vida de la iglesia?

A menudo pensamos que la iglesia es una colección sencilla de individuos autónomos que se encuentran allí para ayudarse unos a otros a crecer en Cristo o a mejorar en la vida Cristiana. Pero no consideramos equivalente el pertenecer a una iglesia con el pertenecer a una familia, por lo menos como alguien en la cultura antigua del Medio Oriente hubiera entendido el vínculo familiar. Las personas en esa cultura no hubieran podido entenderse a sí mismos o su lugar en el mundo, aparte de sus familias.

Billy Graham: Why Linger in the Land of the Dying

Those Who keep Heaven in view experience joy, Even In the Midst of disorder.

Reviews This was never more evident than with my friend Billie Barrows, Especially in the months leading up to her death. Cliff Barrows and Billie joined me in ministry while on Their honeymoon in 1945. It was the Beginning of a long friendship and joyful. Cliff directed our music, and the piano Billie Played In Those early days.

After forty-nine years of marriage and service together with our team, Billie Barrows transcended this life into eternity. I can not help think of the purpose Powerful words Widely Attributed To John Newton as he lay on His deathbed. Someone _him_ Asked, "Are you still with us?" Whispered Newton, "I am still in the land of the dying, order soon,` shall I be in the land of the living! "

You see, death for the Christian is just the entryway to eternity, Where the eternal God Welcomes us in. The Bible says, "He Who hears My word and Believes in Him Who sent Me HAS everlasting life, and` shall not come into judgment, order HAS Passed from death to life "(John 5:24).

Ruth and I visited the Barrows In Their home shortly before Billie's death. They Were expecting Their children home for A Few Days of meeting. Billie Knew About did she not-have long is this earth.

I stayed downstairs with Cliff as he fixed lunch, while Ruth Went upstairs with Billie, Who HAD beens prepaid Reviews some of the children's rooms. She Was so happy and filled with joy as she Anticipated her children's visit.

How much more our heavenly Father Does Anticipate His children's homecoming? Our imaginations can not simply COMPREHEND the grandeur of this wonderful home, a spot of everlasting joy, contentment, and peace.

How can we ever begin to know the rejoicing That Will take up When the Lord Brings all of us home in immortal bodies? The morning stars sing together and the Will Will angels shout for glory. Think of Having full fulfillment, Knowing That our homecoming Brings unspeakable joy to our wonderful Lord! So why do we prefer lingering here? Because we are not only in earthbound body; we are earthbound in our thinking. Purpose When We Leave this place, we Will Never dwell on it again. Our eyes and hearts is Christ Will Be fixed.

When we stand at the graveside of a loved one, we sorrow. Purpose Those united with Christ in death are united with Him aussi in the joy of resurrection. There Was No joy at the tomb of Lazarus. It was a somber and woeful time-until Jesus arrived!

Words can not describe the shock of seeing a dead man alive again-and the joy of knowing That We, too, `shall one day hear the Lord Jesus call our names. Contemplate it for a moment and imagine hearing His voice speak your name. If That Does not due to bubble joy inside of you, it is doubtful anything else Will.

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WORLD CHIRSTAIN NEWS: SAS’s lamping unit ‘used laser to dazzle Princess ...

WORLD CHIRSTAIN NEWS: SAS’s lamping unit ‘used laser to dazzle Princess ...: Following Soldier N’s claims of an SAS plot, other military sources allege a secret force existed and it had the ability to carry out an ...

Free YouTube! Pakistan ban faces court action

ISLAMABAD - ToffeeTV has hit an unexpected snag. The Internet startup depended on YouTube to promote "Hokey-Pokey," "The Umm Nyum Nyum Song" and other language-teaching clips it produces for children, but the video-sharing website has been banned in Pakistan for nearly a year.

The measure was imposed to block videos that Muslims took as insulting and blasphemous. But the unintended consequence has been frustration for many companies, educators and students. A petition to end Internet censorship is before a Pakistani court, and a debate has been rekindled over how to reconcile the right to a free flow of information with a widespread public sentiment that Islam needs special protections.

ToffeeTV has had to save its clips on its own servers and delay the rollout of its apps, says company co-founder Rabia Garib. "It threw us off our feet," she said. "We're off schedule by about eight months."

While the tech-savvy have ways to get around the ban, the vast majority of Pakistanis who try to view YouTube get this: "Surf Safely! ... The site you are trying to access contains content that is prohibited for viewership from within Pakistan."

The made-in-America trailer for "Innocence of Muslims," the movie of which has never reached cinemas, provoked uproar throughout the Muslim world, and several U.S. diplomatic missions were targeted. In Pakistan, clashes between police and protesters left 19 people dead.

YouTube as well as Facebook were initially blocked although the government soon exempted Facebook, saying it removed the offensive material. At the time, U.S. President Barack Obama's administration asked Google, YouTube's parent, to take down the video. But the company refused, saying the trailer didn't violate its content standards.

The only other countries that block YouTube are Tajikistan, China and Iran, according to Google's transparency report that tracks restrictions of its products. Another 56 countries have localized versions of YouTube that allow for tailoring content to local standards.

Pakistan, a nation of roughly 180 million, has a democratically elected government and a legal system inherited from its former British rulers. But that system also contains significant religious strictures, and disputes over religion frequently end in bloodshed. So at the time the YouTube ban was imposed, many saw it as a necessary calming measure.

Now an advocacy group called Bytes for All is petitioning the Lahore High Court to order an end to all Internet censorship.

Muzzling YouTube "could lead to the opening up of an entire Pandora's box of moral policing and dictatorial controls despite the democracy being in place," said Furhan Hussain of Bytes for All.

At the organization's Islamabad offices, activists say the YouTube case is just the latest example. Over the years the government has periodically banned Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr, but the YouTube ban has lasted the longest.

It can be circumvented via VPNs, virtual private networks that mask the user's computer but are prone to viruses and slow the Internet connection.

These proxies are too cumbersome for his staff to deal with, says Jawwad Ahmed Farid, founder and CEO of Karachi-based Alchemy Technologies, which does risk-management training for financial professionals.

It posts short videos of its classes on YouTube to attract business, but uploads fewer of them following the ban, and the volume of Pakistani customers referred through YouTube has fallen, Farid said. "My team finds it very difficult to work with all the proxies in place. It certainly slows it down a bit," he said.

Sidra Qasim is co-CEO of HOMETOWN, a Lahore-based company that helps leather workers to market products such as shoes and belts online. It used YouTube to reach customers and also to teach the workers new techniques. "Now that training part is stopped totally," she said.

A committee of officials from various ministries is looking for solutions and will make the decision on whether to unblock YouTube. But experts aren't sure a technical solution even exists, and Bytes for All and others say that even if the government comes up with a filtering mechanism, they will continue to resist it as censorship.

Kamran Ali, a spokesman for the Ministry of Internet Technology, acknowledged that the ban can be a hardship but said the government must weigh freedom of information against offending the public.

"It's a Muslim country, and this video clearly violates the religious sentiments of the people of Pakistan," he said.

At Air University in Islamabad, some students supported a government-imposed filter. "If they are able to control this blasphemous material that would be a good step," said Waqar ur-Rehman, 21.

But they recognized the difficulty of actually coming up with a system, and some argued against any restrictions, if only because they could be evaded.

"I think the ban shouldn't have been there. It (the movie) hurt a lot of religious sentiments, mine as well, but it was not the right way to do it, because there are so many ways to go around it," said Palwasha Khursheed, who studies electrical engineering.

Hafiz Hussain Ahmed, a Muslim cleric, acknowledged the ban was porous, and said Pakistan was missing an opportunity to use technology such as YouTube to educate people about Islam.

He urged the government to lift the ban, but only after installing filters, saying, "We must not allow anyone to attack our cultural values."

One solution would be a localized version of YouTube for Pakistan. But Google would need immunity from prosecution for any offending content, and Pakistani law so far doesn't allow for such an arrangement.

"It is Google's goal to offer local versions of YouTube to more places worldwide, but it takes time," said Google in a statement to The Associated Press in request for comment about the court case. "The localization process can be lengthy as we research laws and build relationships with local content creators