Global Concern

The whole problem with the notion of a 'just war' is that even if leaders do have noble intentions (which in most cases they do not) or worthy political objectives (which in most cases they do not), wars invariably kill innocent people. And very few human beings, no matter how just or noble they may be at the beginning of a conflict, are able to maintain a clear moral compass in a climate of intense fear with death all around them.

Last week Pope Benedict travelled to the Fatima shrine to worship, drawing 500,000 followers with him to the spot where the Virgin Mary allegedly gave visions and prophecies to three Portuguese children. This week Portugal ignored Pope Benedict XVI's pleas and legalized same-sex marriage, becoming the sixth European nation to do so. The Pope had criticized both gay marriage and abortion as "insidious and dangerous threats to the common good". Whether people adore or ignore the Pope, he holds a powerful position in the world. Who is the man under the Triregnum, this man who influences so many millions of people?

I was born in 1968 and grew up in southern California. I am the eldest of three children and was born a strong-willed child with a "spirited" personality. The first 8 years of life my family attended a good church where I learned about God and Jesus. As a little girl, I knew and loved Jesus very much...

“As I left Australia to spend three and a half months on a hospital ship in one of the world’s poorest nations I had no idea what was ahead of me,” says Abbey Rowe of Brisbane.

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.