Thursday, December 6th, in the year of our Lord 2018
By Jonathan Clark
Nepalese Christians Face Persecution
Ben Thurley, CEO of International Nepal Fellowship Australia, has asked Christians around the world to pray for our fellow believers in Nepal as they face increased persecution for sharing the Gospel.
This comes after Katie Rachel Graham, an Australian Christian woman, was expelled from Nepal for evangelizing in a small town near the border with India last month.
The World View spoke to Ben Thurley about why the church in Nepal is growing quickly despite persecution.
“The church has often been referred to as one of the fastest growing churches in the world. It’s witness to Jesus’ love and service for the community and frankly the miraculous work of God in that country have led to church growth despite a more hostile situation.”
Stay tuned for a deeper look at the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ flowing through the Christians in Nepal after today’s newscast.
Saudi Arabia Allows First Coptic Worship Service
The first Coptic worship service was held in Saudi Arabia on Sunday by Egyptian Bishop Anba Markos, reports the Cairo Scene. This follows an invitation to Markos by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman back in March.
Christians in the Islamic country face high levels of persecution, and those who abandon Islam face the death penalty. Crown Prince bin Salman has made gestures toward international religious leaders recently, but has not made real progress on religious freedom.
Victory of Spanish Pro-Life Party
Spain’s conservative and pro-life Vox Party took 12 seats in the Andalusian regional election this week, handing the Spanish Socialist Party its first defeat since 1982.
The Vox Party supports marriage between one man and one woman and denounces laws in favor of homosexuality that would restrict religious liberty. The party opposes the murder of unborn babies and is also calling for tighter immigration controls.
Births of Many Chinese Girls Not Reported
In God’s providence, the number of Chinese girls killed in abortion and infanticide may not be as high as previously thought, based on a new study by Kansas University professor John Kennedy, reports Life News.
China’s one child policy, later changed to two children, has led to an estimated 60 million “missing girls” in the country where sex-selection abortions are common.
The new study found that up to 25 million of these girls were not actually killed, but were unreported at birth and appeared in government census data later in life. Some local officials refused to enforce the one-child policy, allowing many girls to go unreported.
The protection of life reminds us of the midwives in Exodus 1:17, “But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but let the male children live.”
Houston Pastors: Don’t Force Us to Hire People Who Hate God!
The Houston-based U.S. Pastor Council, representing 25 churches, is challenging the city of Austin in court over an ordinance that could force churches to hire employees who do not hold Biblical views on issues involving gender and sexuality.
The ordinance bans discrimination against people living sexually perverted lifestyles by guaranteeing them employment, reports LifeSiteNews.
More Democratic Women Running for Office
More and more Democratic women are taking leadership positions in various key party organizations, including the campaign arms for national and state races, reports Axios.
A record share of Democratic female candidates ran for House, Senate and Governor in the 2018 midterm elections. And after the Democratic victory in the House of Representatives, Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi received her party’s nomination for Speaker of the House.
Isaiah 3:12 says, “My people—infants are their oppressors, and women rule over them. Your guides mislead you and they have swallowed up the course of your paths.”
Ohio’s Abortion Mill No Longer Does Surgical Abortions
Ohio’s first abortion mill has surrendered its surgical license and will no longer offer surgical procedures to murder babies in the womb, reports the Greater Columbus Right to Life.
The Founder’s Women’s Health Center abortion mill in Columbus gave up their license last month after an inspection of the facility by the Ohio Department of Health.
Trump’s Dept of Education Gives Thumbs Up to Homeschooling
Last month, the U.S. Department of Education’s official blog ran a post in its “RethinkSchool” series, highlighting the benefits of homeschooling.
The post told the story of a Christian military couple, Dan and Jenna, who are homeschooling their six children. They said they loved the flexibility homeschooling allows them to best serve their children’s educational needs and teach them a Biblical worldview.
Exhorting parents, Deuteronomy 6:7 calls for education in God’s ways, “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.”
Close
And that’s The World View in 5 Minutes on this Thursday, December 6th in the year of our Lord 2018. Subscribe by iTunes or email to our unique Christian newscast at www.TheWorldView.com. I’m Adam McManus. (Adam@TheWorldView.com) Seize the day for Jesus Christ.
Special Report: Nepali Christians Thriving Despite Persecution
Time now for a World View Special Report by Emily Swanson. I’m Adam McManus.
Ben Thurley, the CEO of International Nepal Fellowship Australia, told The World View that there has never been a lot of freedom for Christians in Nepal, but the laws on religious conversion this August made it even more difficult.
“In terms of opposition, there’s always been a fairly strong restriction on Christians and other religious minorities sharing their faith and inviting others to convert. But they’ve become stronger in recent months. In August, a new law was enacted that kind of toughens the criminal offense of causing or persuading someone to convert from their pre-existing religious tradition. There is a much stronger restriction on evangelism and public witness for Christians in that country now than there has been in the past. And for most of the Christians I’ve spoken to, the church leaders I’ve spoken to, they think it’s too early to tell how that law will be implemented.”
Thurley said that many of the cases will depend on how local authorities decide to prosecute or not prosecute Christians for evangelism.
“A lot of it is going to depend on the intention of local authorities and how they intend to implement that law. In a lot of places there are actually really good relationships between local churches and local communities and local authorities because the church really does witness to Christ by loving and serving and sharing open handedly and open heartedly with a lot of their communities. So in a lot of places we’re hopeful and pray that churches will be able to continue being who they are, loving God and loving and serving their neighbor.”
Thurley did say that they have seen some worrying signs of church leaders and their congregations being attacked with the new laws.
“We have seen already in some cases, church groups and church leaders, accused under these laws of causing somebody to convert, and being arrested and brought to trial. So there are some worrying signs and definitely something we want to pray about.”
Thurley described Nepali Christians facing intense social and family pressure for converting, a pressure that many American Christians haven’t experienced.
“In terms of why and how Christians remain faithful even under the face of this growing hostility, for a lot of Christians, although this legal situation is new, when they came to faith themselves, a lot of them have faced complete rejection from their families. They’re sent out of the family home. Other family members who remain Hindu and remain in those traditions will refuse to have anything to do with them, refuse to have contact with them. They’ll be cut off from wills, from inheritances, so they’ll no longer be part of the family in any meaningful way. So that enormous social pressure and a lot of personal loss that Christians have faced and still face in a way that Christians in the US and Christians in Australia haven’t had to face that and don’t experience that.”
Thurley explained why the Nepali Christians have remained faithful to God.
“How they remain faithful in that is just really down to the faithfulness of God, that God upholds them, and that they know that whatever the world can do to them, whatever their own families can throw at them, they are deeply loved by God. Just as God won’t give up on them, they won’t give up on God.”
Deuteronomy 7:9 reminds the Israelites that God has been faithful to them and reminds our Nepali family in Christ that He will continue to be faithful, because He never changes.
“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God Who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, to a thousand generations.’
Thurley shared some of the most vital prayer requests for the Nepali Christians.
“For them to be a faithful and wise witness. So even in this new context, Christians just understand that they’re called by God to love Jesus with everything they have and everything they are and to love their neighbor as themselves. And in that for people to come to know the grace of God, for people to come to see and experience the love of God through the love and witness through their Christian neighbours in what’s still a majority Hindu country.”
John 13:35 says, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
To learn more about the work of the International Nepal Fellowship, visit their website at www.inf.org.
This has been a World View Special Report. I’m Adam McManus.