Tag: persecution

Articles 

The Persecuted Church

Phil Whittall, , 0 comment

I don’t know if I have the statistics to demonstrate a genuine increase but it certainly feels as if I’ve been reading more and more often of accounts of persecution recently. Certainly there are those that think there is a definite increase. What follows are just the articles that I’ve come across without having to go look for them and it might give you a sense of why I feel that way. We need to think about how should we respond to the persecution of Christians. Globally these are The Countries Where It’s Most Dangerous to Be a Christian in 2019 (and…

Read More
Articles 

The persecuted church in China

Phil Whittall, , , 0 comment

There seems to be little doubt that state sponsored persecution is on the rise in China. The government of President Xi Jinping seems to have realised that the church does not regard the government as their ultimate authority and that is a threat.  First Chinese police raid prominent house church and arrest its pastor Wang Yi. So far so authoritarian. Then something happened that was probably not anticipated by the Chinese authorities.  Foreseeing this circumstance, Pastor Wang Yi wrote the declaration below to be published by his church should he be…

Read More
Links 

The Curiosity Index (06.11.2018)

Phil Whittall, , , , , , , , 0 comment

Hmmm, another gap in posting but hoping to pick things up again. We’ll see. Is a religious upbringing child abuse? I became a Christian when I was eight years old.  To many, this sounds like I was subject to brainwashing or even child abuse. How could responsible parents coerce their child into accepting their understanding of the world and force her to live by some standard of behaviour dictated by an invisible force? How can an eight-year-old make an informed choice about something as controversial as religion? If you’re not…

Read More
Links 

The Curiosity Index (26.03.2018)

Phil Whittall, , , , , , , 0 comment

Boko Haram kept one Dapchi girl who refused to deny her Christianity “We begged her to just recite the Islamic declaration and put the hijab on and get into the vehicle, but she said it was not her faith, so why should she say it was? If they want to kill her, they can go ahead, but she won’t say she is a Muslim.” Powerful. Pray for Leah Sharibu. Church planting realities What it’s like being involved in a church plant in Finland. How about this for an endorsement: Moving countries…

Read More
Links 

The Curiosity Index (11.01.2018)

Phil Whittall, , , , , , , , , 0 comment

The Top 50 Countries Where It’s Most Dangerous to Follow Jesus It might be getting harder to be a Christian in the secular west but while not exclusively true but it is also very clear – the most dangerous place for a Christian to live is in a Muslim country. * Christians in Egypt face unprecedented persecution * Officials demolish Golden Lampstand Church in Shanxi, China From debt to divorce, this chart tracks the UK’s year of worries And it provides good evidence why churches that care about their communities…

Read More
Links 

The Curiosity Index (05.01.2018)

Phil Whittall, , , , , , , , 0 comment

Christmas violence and arrests shake Indian Christians I don’t know how your Christmas was but it probably wasn’t like this. While lots of us in safe countries are focused on productivity, life goals and so on that for many Christians life is lived under constant pressure. Contextualised Christmas Dinner This gives you a little insight into how you figure out Christmas traditions in a different culture. A New Year’s Wish: Better Social Media This asks a brilliant question: “Why is everyone hooked on a product that makes them miserable?” 10 Rules to…

Read More
Links 

The Curiosity Index (02.10.2017)

Phil Whittall, , , , 0 comment

Meet the Mother of Modern Missions “Though hardly anyone knows her name today, Rebecca helped ignite fires of a new kind of religion that in subsequent centuries has given spiritual sustenance to millions.” We could well call Rebecca Protten the “mother of modern missions.” Remarkable. A pastor becomes a pawn in a spat between America and Turkey SOME evangelical Christians in the United States have stratospheric political connections, and can be sure of gaining access to the White House whenever they want. But Andrew Brunson, a Presbyterian minister from North Carolina…

Read More
Links 

The Curiosity Index (11.01.2017)

Phil Whittall, , 0 comment

Five very different links that reveal much about the vastly different challenges of being a Christian in different parts of the world For those of us in the connected world we may want to know how to Secure Your Online Life with the Bible (and Good Security Practices). John Dyer tells you how We will also increasingly face the challenge of assisted dying. Jen Oshman gives you three reasons to resist. Christians in other parts of the world face different pressures. In India Christians are increasingly under attack. Here’s the list of…

Read More