Germany: Why young Germans are answering call to holy war
Hundreds of young German Islamists have travelled to Syria to fight with the terrorist group Islamic State. Der Spiegel explored the extremist scene in Germany and the fascination with jihad in order to find answers about what drives people to join the murderous cult. Whenever Ismail Cetinkaya runs into one of those young men who want to leave Hamburg to fight in Syria, he asks: ‘Have you ever slept without heat in the winter? Do you know what it's like to live without electricity and running water? Do you think a Kalashnikov works like the controller for your PlayStation 4?’ He also asks whether the young man is leaving his mother behind. And then he quotes the words of the Prophet Mohammed, and says: ‘Paradise lies at the feet of your mother.’ The implication being that those who leave their weeping mothers behind won't enter paradise.
Germany: Petition against gay ‘Education Policy’ rejected
In the middle of October the petition ‘No Education Policy under Rainbow (Gay) Ideology’ signed by 192,000 supporters was rejected by the petition commission for no good reason and the state parliament (in Stuttgart) confirmed this rejection in the middle of November with its ‘green-red’ majority. However protest action is now gaining further momentum and has entered a new phase. 3000 citizens in Stuttgart took a stand for the protection and strengthening of the family at one of the ‘Demo for everybody’ demonstrations which are now taking place regularly. Last month significant articles appeared in the media exposing the background to this ‘Pornographisation’ of the school system. The link between today’s sexual education and the thinking of paedophiles was disclosed to a shocked public. Radical unchristian teaching, to be incorporated into the new Education Policy is now increasingly coming under criticism. Give thanks for growing resistance. (1 Pe.5:8-9)
China: The paradox of the rapid spread of Christianity
In China there are more Christians today than there are members of the 87 million-strong Communist Party. They grow by an average of 10% a year, which means there will be 250 million Christians by around 2030, making China’s Christian population the largest in the world. While in the 1980s the faith grew most quickly in the countryside, in recent years it has been burgeoning in cities. A new breed of educated, urban and socially and economically active Christians has emerged. This rapid growth of the Church is forcing an official rethink on religion. In fact, the Party is even asking Christians for their help. But there’s also a downside to this growth. See an assessment of the Church in China at Joel News International.
Philippines: Missionaries attacked, prayed and survived
A gunman shot a Filipino pastor in the foot, pointed a handgun at his head, and demanded to be taken to the American missionaries’ complex. Missionaries Daniel and Colleen Jaquith were woken by gunshots, then the gunman burst into their room, with the pastor as hostage, demanding money. In response the Jaquiths dropped to their knees and began to pray. ‘Stop praying! Stop praying!’ the intruder yelled. They paid no attention and continued to pray. Then the pastor started a scuffle, Dan was shot in the arm, Colleen bound the bleeding arm with a pillow case while the pastor wrested the firearm from the gunman who then fled into the night. Later police arrested the gunman, who had a long history of drug use and law breaking. Their brush with death was terrifying but Dan is filled with gratitude for God’s protection and His answer to their prayers. Dan said he gives the Lord praise for His mighty deliverance during desperate times of trouble.
