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Evangelicals offer relief to quake victims
(LAMNS)-Christians from both sides of the Atlantic are joining forces to provide relief in the wake of an 8.1-magnitude earthquake that struck southern Peru on June 23.

Peru’s government declared a state of emergency in the regions of Arequipa, Moquegua and Tacna, and cities of the Highlands regions of Ayacu-cho, Parinacocha, Paucar and Sara Sara, Zenit reports.

Mission and Christian relief organizations are channeling resources to local churches helping people rebuild their homes and lives. As of July 10, the death toll stood at 75, with 2,689 injured and 64 missing, reports the Center for International Disaster Information, or CIDI. The quake and aftershocks have damaged or destroyed the housing of more than 50,000 people and affected more than 200,000.

The quake sent a tidal surge more than a half-mile inland. Fields have washed away. Scores of dead livestock are scattered across once-lush farmland. Rescue workers are burning the dead animals to prevent the spread of disease. The quake destroyed more than 2 million hectares of farmland. CIDI reports that water and irrigation problems jeopardize the entire harvest in southern Peru. The quake was barely felt in Lima, the capital city of 7 million. On June 25, a 5.0-magnitude aftershock struck Peru’s devastated southern region, about 580 miles southeast of Lima, said Peru’s Civil Defense. No major damage or deaths were immediately reported. Schools closed in Arequipa, Peru’s second largest city, which is in the center of the area where the quake struck. Latin Link’s Rosemary Gibson, head teacher of the International College, reports that the school suffered only broken windows, but the safety of the building and the students is still a major concern.

The situation in rural towns and villages is worse. Mountain roads are blocked, and many adobe homes have been destroyed. Gibson reports that while daytime temperatures soar, warm clothing and shelter are needed at night. Medical needs are acute, she says, as the earthquake damaged many older hospital buildings.

Persecution watch: Sweden
A proposed law in Sweden may make it illegal to speak out against homosexuality, and Pentecostal church leaders are fighting it, reports Charisma News Service. While defamatory speech against gays already is prosecutable in Sweden, gay-rights advocates are seeking to define gays as a group that needs special protection from discrimination. Jews, gypsies and women already have that status. “According to one government legal expert, the bill could criminalize the reading of certain Bible verses in public,” Charisma reports. “The target of the proposal is Swedish-Nazi smear campaigns against homosexuals, but its broader effect could open the door to criminalizing the religious views of Christians, Jews and Muslims.” A Swedish Pentecostal pastor says that while the bill probably won’t get enough votes in Parliament to pass, its defeat is not a given because the gay lobby is very influential. “The country’s three largest denominations – Lutheran, Roman Catholic and Congregationalist-have expressed support for the bill, along with ‘gay Christian’ pressure groups,” Charisma reports.

Chinese fugitive embraces Christ
A Chinese multi-billionaire couple charged by Chinese authorities in a smuggling case says they’ve become Christians through a pastor’s visits to their Vancouver jail cells. One of them wants to be baptized in jail, reports the Vancouver Sun. Lai Changxing and his wife, Tsang Mingna, are set to be deported from their Canadian residence and are among 100 people on trial in China. At least 10 have been executed and another 14 face the death penalty for their roles in Lai’s smuggling of fuel, nice cars and electronics into China without paying taxes. The pastor, Moses Cheng, says he can’t believe the “quiet, unassuming” Lai whose attends Bible studies and lists Psalm 23 among his favorite Scriptures could be the ruthless criminal the Chinese government claims. The prison’s chaplain is skeptical that the conversions are sincere.

How do you say ‘Snuffleupagus’ in Egyptian?
A culturally translated Sesame Street has captured 61 percent of Egypt’s under-8 age group, which is desparately in need of remedial education. Half of the country’s school-age population ages 6 to 15 is illiterate. The figure is 60 percent for girls, who often drop out in poor areas and in Upper Egypt because they get married as young as 13. But it also addresses sensitive issues, such as tense relations between Muslims and the Coptic Christian minority, reports the Los Angeles Times. The show is called “Alam Simsim,” or “Sesame World,” and features Kokha, Nimnim and Filfil, the Egyptian versions of Elmo, Grover and Big Bird. While the government ordered the show’s producers to stay away from religion, the producers gave a grocer character a Coptic name, Girgis, who is a good friend to his Muslim neighbors. Producers hope to send kids a message that will stick as they grow older. Says an official overseeing the program, “Four-year-olds, we find, are more alike than different, all over the world.”

Revived Indian law may thwart ministry
India has revived an old law that could restrict ministry by overseas missionaries and visitors, Open Doors warns. The government recently announced it was “reiterating” a 1971 order that requires nationals who host foreigners for more than 24 hours to report their presence to the nearest police station. Christian leaders in the country have complained of visits by intelligence agencies each time a foreigner visited their offices, Open Doors reports. If the order is implemented strictly, it would impact “almost every Indian,” and could severely hinder the activities of churches and Christians with contacts abroad, especially in India’s current climate of increasing Hindu militancy. A government official claims the revived order aims to check and keep track of illegal migration across the border, particularly from Pakistan, and is not intended to harass or inconvenience anyone visiting the country with valid documents and staying with friends or kin. But Open Doors says it could force organizers of seminars featuring overseas speakers to seek official approval and involve intelligence agencies in reviewing visa applications.

Estonia’s president refuses to sign controversial religion law
President Lennart Meri refused to sign the new law on churches and congregations adopted by parliament on June 13, citing “disproportionate restrictions” on the exercise of religious freedom, his office told Keston News Service June 29. Opposition to the law from various religious groups in Estonia had focused on a provision banning foreign-led religious communities apart from individual congregations from gaining registration. Meri took into account the opposition to the law from the Council of Churches in the wake of its meeting June 28. The Russian Orthodox Church was among religious communities welcoming Meri’s refusal to sign the law in its current form because it does not have registration in Estonia.

French flock to black churches
Crowds are going on Sunday mornings to Paris’ La Plaine Saint-Denis to find church services with drums, swaying choirs, three- to four-hour sermons, and faith-healing, reports London’s Daily Telegraph. Most attendees are from France’s African and Caribbean communities, but some whites are among worshipers. “Recent surveys suggest that many French Catholics have become deeply disillusioned with their authoritarian faith but still hunger for spiritual comfort,” the Telegraph reports. A British Protestant missionary who ministers near Paris told the newspaper that about 400 churches have been planted in the past 10 years, while Catholic attendance has plummeted. “Evangelical Christianity appeals to a lot of people as a third way between Catholicism and secularism,” he says.

Hong Kong church leaders fear anti-sect bill
Church leaders fear that the passing of an anti-sect law in France may pave the way for the Hong Kong government to adopt similar legislation, Compass Direct reports. The concerns stem from a Hong Kong statement in May that it is studying overseas anti-cult legislation aimed at the Falun Gong sect. The director of the Hong Kong Human Rights Monitor warned that any anti-sect law could have implications not only for sects but also for mainstream religions. He said an anti-sect law could be used to ban Taoism, Buddhism or even the Catholic Church.

Flocking to Vietnam’s Temples
“More and more people, disillusioned by society or in need of comforting, are turning to the faith of their elders,” reports Inter Press Service. People bring offerings to Buddhist temples hoping it will bring them favors, but some temple visitors say they like to come because the temples are peaceful refuges away from city life. They are nestled in lush greenery and Vietnamese find them conducive to meditation, the news service writes. In the last five years, more have been visiting temples. A college student said that among his peers, “going to pagoda” and eating vegetarian meals on the first and 15th days of the lunar month is in vogue, although they are not devoted Buddhists. But times are tough for Vietnamese who want to practice a faith. Even though Vietnam’s 1980 constitution promises religious freedom, a loophole clause says, “no one may misuse religion to violate state laws and policies.” The government requires religious organizations to register and to get permission to build or renovate houses of worship or hold events such as celebrations not on the religious calendar. “Between 65 and 75 percent of Vietnam’s 80 million people are nominal Buddhists, although many say that the real dominant religion in this country is a combination of Mahayana Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism,” Inter Press reports. But some are devoted to the religion. One man tells Inter Press he began observing Buddhist rules and going to services regularly after his wife had a healthy son in a hard delivery. “I didn’t know what to do, whom to ask for help, so I prayed to Buddha,” he says. Another tells Inter Press, “All I remember from Buddha’s teachings is that dao (religion) is the road leading to deliverance. Nevertheless, each person must find his own road.”

Nigeria’s Christians under sharia
Northern Nigerian states haven’t kept promises that their Christian residents wouldn’t be subject to Islamic criminal law, or sharia. Implementing sharia criminal law is against Nigeria’s constitution, but states may establish sharia courts for domestic matters. The Christian Association of Nigeria, an alliance of denominations ranging from Catholic to Pentecostal, report that its members are often harassed by Muslims who say they’re enforcing sharia. Sharia’s criminal code calls for harsh punishments, such as public flogging and beheading.

Saudi Arabia: Happy with Nigeria’s Islamic law
Saudi Arabia’s government welcomed the adoption of sharia, the Islamic legal system, by states in northern Nigeria, said a representative of the Saudi Arabian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs while visiting northern Nigeria’s Kwara state on May 19. Compass Direct reports that the open declaration seems to confirm fears expressed by Nigerian Christian leaders that imposing sharia in northern Nigeria is an attempt to Islamize Nigeria and to stop the spread of Christianity. Thirteen states have adopted the Islamic legal system. Many have sent khadis (judges) for training in Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Pakistan.

Chad at the crossroads
While few Africa watchers would rate Christian persecution in Chad as severe, isolated incidents and an ongoing process of islamization have brought the country to a crossroads, and many Christians are concerned about the direction the country will take. Compass Direct reports that Muslims are the majority in the north and east and represent about 60 percent of the total population of Chad. Christians and animists form a majority in the south. Many people in southern Chad talk about the growing influence of Islam and the government support for islamization. Rebellion is often bubbling under the surface in the southern provinces. Trouble may brew for Christians in Moundou, in southern Chad, where the evangelical church thrives with several hundred members. Originally, the land where it is located was offered to the Muslim community when they requested land to build a mosque. The Muslims turned it down because it was too far from the center of town. But recently, Muslims requested that the Church be closed because they say it interferes with their activities at the mosque opposite. This is despite the fact that the mosque, originally built in 1993, was little used until a year or two ago when Muslim fundamentalists came on the scene. An example of Islamization sweeping the country is in the village of Lolo, west of Moundou in southern Chad. Some Muslims approached the village elders and asked what the village needed most: a well, or help with agricultural implements, oxen, seed or fertilizer? The price the poor villagers had to pay for the well and the yoke of oxen they received was agreeing to the building of a new mosque. A sign was erected that says Lolo is now a Muslim village, Compass reports.

August 3, 2001