South African Church Charged By State with Teaching Parental Abuse

By Nico Bougas
Special to ASSIST News Service

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA (ANS) -- A Cape Town church has been charged by the South African Human Rights Commission over its views on corporal punishment. The church, Joshua Generation, has called on other South African churches to join it in standing against what they see as a government attack on freedom of religion.

Pastor Andrew Selley and his wife Emma

The Commission has charged Joshua Generation with its teaching of "spare the rod and spoil the child." 

However Senior Pastor, Andrew Selley, after meeting with religious rights lawyers and has issued a statement declaring that, "the real problem is that this is an attempt to curb religious freedom. If we don't oppose this it will lead to Christian churches being prohibited from teaching the Bible as they understand it."

"We call on Muslims and Jews to speak out against this situation because this is a struggle for religious freedom," said Selley in an interview yesterday.

Selley says that there has been an overwhelming response from both individuals as well as several large churches that have supported them in their fight for religious freedom.

Family Policy Institute Director, Errol Naidoo supported Selley's call on church leaders: "If Joshua Generationcannot share what the Bible teaches about child discipline it means that the whole church will forfeit its right to teach Biblical Christian principles. If the Human Rights Commission or any other government agency wants to dictate what the church can teach or not teach, it means the end of church autonomy.

A recent Global Gathering event at the church

"It is absolutely essential that the church speak with a united voice against this totalitarian intrusion into its legitimate role."

Corporal punishment in the home is not illegal in South Africa but it has been outlawed at schools since 2006. The Government is currently working on draft legislation to outlaw spanking at home.

African Christian Democratic Alliance representative and Member of Parliament, Cheryllyn Dudley, who met withJoshua Generation Church leaders today, advised the church to use the opportunity of the investigation to inform the commission that it is aware of the problem of violence against children in South Africa and offers parenting courses and other guidance to equip parents to discipline their children in a safe, and non-abusive way.

Selley said the church will inform the commission of its responsible parenting measures as well as its community outreach projects aimed at protecting children.

"At the same time we hope that the church in South Africa will rally around us and tell the commission to back off," he said.

This investigation is the second recent case in which the State human rights watchdog's activities have raised questions about an apparent agenda of attacking religious freedom. In April the Commission found Creare Christian Arts Training Centre in Bloemfontein guilty of discriminating against homosexuals for holding a Bible-based view that homosexual practice is sinful. Creare is appealing against the ruling which will be decided in the Constitutional Court.

Rimsha accused goes free

Cleric acquitted due to ‘insufficient evidence’

Rights activist Basharat Khokhar, left; Mizrak Masih, centre;
daughter Rimsha, right, in early 2013, after her release.

The Muslim cleric suspected of framing Pakistani Christian girl Rimsha Masih has been acquitted.

The district court found there was insufficient evidence to convict Imam Khalid Jadoon Chishti, who was suspected of planting the burnt pages of some Islamic texts into the teenager’s bag.

Rimsha was arrested at the age of 14 in August last year and jailed after angry crowds threatened to burn Christian homes in the sector of Islamabad where her family lived.

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Christians bracing for more attacks

Egypt (MNN) ― While the United States has suspended military aid to Egypt, few in the Middle East country are concerned. Why? Saudi Arabia has pledged to make up any aid that is taken away. That means radicals may only be more emboldened to cause chaos.

At this point, the Egyptian military has gained control of the country, arresting a top Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Mohammed Badie.

E3 Partners Middle East expert Tom Doyle says Christians seem relieved that the military is in control, "But I think they're also bracing themselves for attacks. They know with the Brotherhood out of power, they're not going to go away quietly."

Christians have traditionally voted against the Muslim Brotherhood, which just magnifies the problem.

Doyle says despite the unrest, the evangelical church is seeing great growth. 20 years ago, it was rare to hear of a Muslim becoming a Christian. Now, it's common to hear of Muslims coming to faith in Christ in amazing ways. "They privately sought out Christians, learned more about Jesus, started reading the Bible, [and] came to faith in Him. This is something we see as normal today."

Doyle says E3 leaders are excited about the work in Egypt right now. One leader told him, "I wouldn't [want] to be anywhere else in the world but Egypt right now, because God is moving. Certainly it's dangerous, but God is moving in such a powerful way. This is the hour of need where we can bring the message of Jesus to the nation."

E3 Partners is providing training and materials to help believers reach out to Muslims. And funding is needed more now than ever before. "There's a systematic plan to get the Gospel to every living person in Egypt: 85 million. That's quite a feat!"

Many E3 leaders use the EvangeCube, which is a puzzle-like cube with pictures, to share the Gospel with Muslims who had visions or dreams about Jesus. Doyle reports that a believer "was sharing the Gospel using the EvangeCube [with some Muslims], and this was the same picture that they saw in their dream of Jesus on the cross for them. How amazing is that?"

Prayer is essential, too. Click here to join the E3 8Thirty8 prayer initiative, based on Romans 8:38.

Open Doors offers free resources for IDOP 2013

The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church
 will be observed November 3, 2013.
 (Image courtesy Open Doors)

International (MNN) ― They're hunted down by the Boko Haram in Nigeria. They're slaughtered on the streets of Egypt. They're the target of legal injustice in Central Asia.

Why? The answer is simple: they are followers of Christ.

According to Open Doors USA, over 100 million Christians in more than 60 countries face persecution because of their faith in Jesus Christ. They're the reason for the International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church, or IDOP.

"Dedicating this day of prayer is absolutely vital," says Emily Fuentes with Open Doors. "Prayer has moved mountains in the past, and prayers change the hearts of leaders. Prayers can change the course of history for nations."

IDOP will be observed on the first Sunday of November this year, November 3. To help you engage the "prayer warriors" in your congregation, Open Doors is offering a free prayer kit.

"There are prayer guides, there are videos, there are bulletin inserts, sermon outlines--free resources in general, just to make this day happen," Fuentes explains.

You can click here to request a prayer kit from Open Doors, or you can download it to your computer by clicking here.

"This is a great way of uniting the Body of Christ," says Fuentes. "We're one body; when one member suffers, we all suffer. When one is lifted up, we all rejoice."

MNN will also be airing a special broadcast on IDOP, encouraging Christians to honor heroes of the faith around the world and to pray for Christians who face harm every day.
In the United States--a country founded upon freedoms, it's hard to grasp the concept of persecution.

"Brother Andrew, our founder, once had a statement saying, 'You Christians in America aren't persecuted. You're intimidated,'" Fuentes says.

She points to North Korea as an example. It tops the Open Doors World Watch List, a compilation of the 50 countries where persecution of Christians is the worst.

In this country, "your faith doesn't just affect you," Fuentes says. "It affects your whole family."

Fuentes explains that proclaiming Christ as Lord in North Korea will get you and three generations of your family thrown into a concentration camp or gulag.

"Dilemmas that Christians in countries like North Korea have to go through are beyond what any of us could ever imagine," she states.

Please remember the persecuted in your prayers today.

"It's important to remember how many times in the New Testament we're called to be one Body, the Body of Christ," adds Fuentes.

Possible kidnapping of Ukrainian church member

(Map courtesy Wikipedia)

Ukraine (MNN/SGA) ― Picture the most devoted Christ-follower you know. How would you feel if that person suddenly went missing?

That's what happened in the Ukraine at a church supported by Slavic Gospel Association. What follows is a verbatim report from their prayer letter.

Today we received an urgent prayer request from brothers and sisters in the Ukrainian city of Nikopol. One of their dedicated church members, Julia Tsapko, vanished without a trace on her way home from church August 4, 2013. She was last seen at the Nikopol Baptist Church Sunday, August 4, and then was seen walking on her way home. She never arrived.

For a time, Julia was here in the United States, fellowshipping at Grace Family Church, a Russian-speaking congregation in Carmachael, California. She is described as a fervent Christian who loves God and people, and one who has always been involved in various ministries including youth ministry.

She is a graduate of Tavriski Christian Institute, an evangelical Bible school in the city of Kherson. In the past year, Julia returned to Nikopol, Ukraine, where she lived with her parents.

The e-mail we received contained the following statement:

Julia's disappearance has shocked and greatly affected all of her family, friends, and acquaintances. Since she would not have left on her own, this case probably involves abduction. Despite numerous unanswered questions and not knowing, we trust in our God and His mercy, love, and faithfulness. We pray that God will shine His light on this situation, and that He will keep Julia safe, returning her home, and to glorify and lift up His powerful name as a testimony to all people.

Islamic Extremists in Somalia Abduct Christian Mother of Two Young Children

Husband receives threatening text messages from kidnappers

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries

BULO MARER, SOMALIA (ANS) -- Islamic extremists suspected to be rebel al-Shabab militants have kidnapped a Christian mother of two young children in Somalia and threatened her husband because of their faith, her husband said.

Somalia`s Islamic al-Shabab spokesman Sheik Muktar Robow Abu Mansur (C) addresses a news conference where he vowed to step up attacks against government soldiers and foreign troops in Mogadishu

Three masked men abducted Shamsa Enow Hussein, 28, on Aug. 5 in Bulo Marer, Lower Shebelle Region, at 7 p.m. outside her home after determining that she was a secret Christian, 31-year-old Mohamed Isse Osman told Morning Star News (http://morningstarnews.org).

"I just heard screaming from my wife and the children as I approached my house," Osman said.

That night, his wife was able to send him a text message saying he should flee the area, he said.

"Please leave immediately because of what we believe," she said in the text. "They have abused me sexually saying I am an infidel."

According to the East Africa correspondent for the news service, Osman said he has received anonymous, threatening text messages from the kidnappers from a withheld number, including one reading, "Your wife has told us all about your Christian involvement and soon we shall come for you too."

A leader of the underground church in the undisclosed town to which Osman and his daughters, ages 3 and 5, have fled said Osman has not heard from his wife since her Aug. 5 text message.

"Our two young daughters are crying for their mother," Osman told the church leader.

The story went on to say that a resident of the Bulo Marer area whose name is withheld confirmed that Hussein was abducted but that local residents knew little else about it.

"What little we knew about Osman's family was that they were not very committed to attending the mosque during Ramadan time," he said.

Somalis consider themselves Muslim by birth, and apostasy, or leaving Islam, is punishable by death.

"Al-Shabab, said to have ties with Al Qaeda, reportedly has a base in Bulo Marer. The group has vowed to rid Somalia of Christians, who meet secretly due to persecution. Al Shabaab is battling the Somali government that replaced the Transitional Federal Government a year ago, on Aug. 20, 2012," added the East Africa Correspondent.

"On June 7 in Jamaame District in southern Somalia, insurgents from the group shot 28-year-old Hassan Hurshe to death after identifying him as a Christian, sources said. Al Shabaab members brought Hurshe to a public place in the town of Jilib and shot him in the head, they said."

The insurgents have lost control of several areas of Somalia since Kenyan military forces helped to dislodge them in the past year, but they are suspected in the shooting death of a Christian pharmacist on the outskirts of Kismayo in February. Two masked men killed Ahmed Ali Jimale, a 42-year-old father of four, on Feb. 18 as he stood outside his house in Alanley village.

According to Morning Star News, these are some of the other attacks:

* On April 13, al-Shabab rebels shot his widow, 42-year-old Fartun Omar, to death in Buulodbarde, 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Beledweyne, leaving their five children orphaned.

* On March 23, al-Shabab militants in Bulo Marer jailed and tortured a Christian, 25-year-old Hassan Gulled, for converting from Islam, sources said.

* On Dec. 8, 2012 in Beledweyne, 206 miles (332 kilometers) north of Mogadishu, gunmen killed a Christian who had been receiving death threats for leaving Islam. Two unidentified, masked men shot Mursal Isse Siad, 55, outside his home, Muslim and Christian sources said. Siad and his wife, who converted to Christianity in 2000, had moved to Beledweyne from Doolow eight months before. The area was under government control and there was no indication that the killers belonged to the al-Shabab rebels, but the Islamic extremist insurgents were present in Buulodbarde, and Christians believed a few al-Shabab rebels could have been hiding in Beledweyne.

* In the coastal city of Barawa on Nov. 16, 2012, al-Shabab militants killed a Christian after accusing him of being a spy and leaving Islam, Christian and Muslim witnesses said. The extremists beheaded 25-year-old Farhan Haji Mose after monitoring his movements for six months, sources said. Mose drew suspicion when he returned to Barawa, in the Lower Shebelle Region, in December 2011 after spending time in Kenya, according to underground Christians in Somalia.

"Kenya's population is nearly 83 percent Christian, according to Operation World, while Somalia's is close to 100 percent Muslim," concluded the story.