Faith and Politics

Converts from Islam to Christianity are increasingly concerned about a number of reports in recent months which have cited astounding statistics on conversion. It is true – and a matter for thankfulness to God – that more Muslims are now coming to Christ than at any other time in history. However, they are not converting on the vast scale alleged in some reports. These false reports, often initiated by non-Christians and then circulated by Christians, are a matter of grave concern, not just for those who love truth and accuracy, but also for the many individuals whose lives are being endangered by the publicity given to the exaggerated figures.

Brother Andrew urges Christians not to 'black list' radical Muslims.
By Deann Alford - from Christianity Today

Brother Andrew, founder of the persecuted-church ministry Open Doors and author of the forthcoming book Secret Believers, has been traveling to the Middle East for more than 30 years. During that time, he has met with Israelis, Christians of all kinds, and Muslim leaders from Fatah, Hamas, and other radical or militant groups. Ever since his Cold War days taking Bibles behind the Iron Curtain (made famous in his 1967 autobiography, God's Smuggler), American Christians have often responded to Brother Andrew's reports with some degree of skepticism, but always with awe. Christianity Today senior writer Deann Alford recently interviewed Brother Andrew on the current Gaza crisis and Christian relations with fundamentalist Muslims.

Most attention in Iraq is focused on Sunni and Shia families forced to leave their home towns by sectarian violence. The fate of non-Muslim minorities, particularly Christians, deserves equal attention. The Iraqi Christian population has fallen to a third of its level of twenty years ago.

The American led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 deepened the already existing division between the Middle-East and the West, divided America from long-time political allies, and even divided America itself. It even divided Christians. Three years down the track as the American military body count surpasses the number of victims of 9/11, more sober minds are evaluating what the real cost of the war has been.

What many people don't realise is that the Separation of Church and State was actually a Christian idea! These days this phrase is used by people who want to minimise the influence of religion in the political realm, but originally it was a phrase invented by Christians who wanted to limit the influence that the State had on the Church!

On the phone, in between his duties at Schofield Army Barracks in Hawaii, Sergeant Logan Laituri tells me he wants to "live radically for Christ." Normally I stumble over that sort of fervor – couched, as it is, in terms I would usually consider vague and cliche – but if following Jesus means telling your captain that 9/11 didn't absolve you of the need to love your enemies, I'll keep listening.

Can a good leader make monumental mistakes? Can a man who leads a country, who allegedly prays about major decisions, and who comes across as a reasonably nice guy - can someone like that make huge errors of judgment? The answer of course is yes.

"Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one committed to me, blind like the servant of the Lord?" - Isaiah 42:19

What the world thinks of America.