Lies, damned lies, and statistics!

The well-known saying that is the heading for this post, has often been attributed to the great British statesman, Benjamin Disraeli. That, I have discovered, is unlikely to be true, and the actual originator may well be that other distinguished personage, A.N.Onymous!

However, regardless of who first made the statement, the meaning is obvious. There are three degrees of falsehood: lies ("white" lies?!); damned lies (more serious untruths?!); and statistics (which may be manipulated to mean whatever one wishes them to mean!).

However, some statistics are neither political, nor financial, and are therefore less likely to be manipulated in any way. On Sunday, I was presented with some statistics issued by the office of the French Minister of the Interior, concerning the year 2016. They made interesting reading. According to this official source, there was a rise, in France, in attacks against Christian places of worship of 17.4%. A total of 90% of attacks on places of worship were aimed at Christian buildings.

The state counted 949 acts of anti-Christian acts for the year 2016. Among these, 399 were acts of vandalism, 191 thefts of cult objects, 14 facts were deemed to have had "satanic motivation" (and remember, this is an official report from the government of what is a secular state!), and 25 were perpetrated by anarchists.

On the other hand, anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic acts are on the decline. Indeed in 2015, the State counted 429 acts that were recorded as being anti-Muslim, and 808 acts that were recorded as being anti-semitic. However, these figures fall respectively to 182 and 335 for the year 2016.

So what may one take out of these figures? I would suggest that the most important thing is that, in spite of the number of Islamic-inspired atrocities in France, in recent years, there has been very little back-lash from the population at large, directed at Muslims.

What about the increase in anti-Christian attacks? Another set of figures, issued on Jan 6th by  the Observatory of Christianophobia, headed by journalist Daniel Hamiche, a member of the Church of Rome, claimed that "Christianophobe" (who coins these words that are literally false?!) activity in France increased by a massive 37.4% from 2015 - 2016.

I have been asked to give a presentation, next month, to a group of English-language speakers, on the subject of the Persecuted Church - a subject that has been dear to my heart for some fifty years. I plan to share about three countries that have become, over the years, the countries on which the Lord seems to have led me to concentrate. None of them, of course, are in any part of Europe. Do these figures suggest that, in the not too distant future, European countries will, in fact, be places in which disciples of Jesus are persecuted for their faith?

If that does happen - and it is more likely than less - then it will certainly clean out the church of its "deadwood" - those about whom Paul warns his "child in the faith" (I Tim.1:2), Timothy: "... understand this, that in the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it. Avoid such people." (II Tim.3:1-5; emphasis added).

Many are increasingly certain that we are in the last days before Almighty God, the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists brings time to an end. The signs are all around us. This reported rise in anti-Christian activity may not yet be of the same magnitude as is experienced in North Korea; Somalia; Afghanistan; Pakistan; and Sudan - to name just the top five of the fifty countries in which disciples of Jesus are actively persecuted. However, there is no guarantee in the written Word of God, of which I am aware, that "western" Christians will be exempt from persecution. Jesus said: "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you;..." (John 15:20).

Those in the Persecuted Church about which I have been invited to speak, do not seek release from their sufferings, but constantly ask that we pray that they will be found faithful! When our time comes, may we also be found faithful - even unto death. 

A new year.

Perhaps you didn't actually notice the "deliberate mistake" in the heading to this first post of 2015!   You have probably looked, now, and realised that I missed out the word 'happy' in the greeting.  This is not because I do not wish all of my readers a happy, peaceful, and prosperous 2015.  I do!  However, I am also something of a realist, and am aware of some of what is happening in the world around me.

As we begin this new year, it is certainly possible - and understandable - that we would do so with a certain trepidation.  Here, in the UK, we face a little over four months of electioneering for the May General Election.  It could be one of the closest-fought, most unpredictable, elections of a generation and, as such, will almost certainly lead to a lot of 'dirty campaigning'.  The economy, in the UK, may be improving (as we are assured by some), but it is still fragile.  Most of the people with whom I associate are still feeling a lot of economic pressure.

Further afield, there is the ongoing threat from Islamic extremists.  The so-called 'Islamic State' has shown itself to be one of the most cruel, and violent, groups since Attila the Hun.  In Nigeria, Boko Haram is not much better; nor is Al Shabbab in Somalia.  Of course, such groups could have been mentioned in the previous paragraph as they have, not just the UK, but the whole of western Europe, in their sights.

One could go on, but anyone treading this is more than capable of adding to the list.

However, stepping into 2015 with anything but confidence is the wrong attitude for those of us who claim to be followers of Jesus.  Our Lord warned us: "In this world you will have trouble."  We can all instantly relate to that!  However, He continued: "But take heart!  I have overcome the world." (John 16:33).  Hallelujah!  Father God assures us: "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10).  The Psalmist testified, "When I am afraid, I put my trust in You." (Psalm 56:3).  Peter invites us to "... cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you." (I Peter 5:7).

Why do we fear the future?  Because it is unknown, and the unknown can be frightening.  And because we feel ourselves inadequate to the challenges that may lie ahead.  But, amazingly, the future is known to God (more on that in my first book - Great Words of the Faith, in the chapter on Predestination!).  And God promises to meet all our needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).

Even for those who are "in Christ Jesus" (Gal.3:28, inter al), the year ahead may not always work out in the way that we had hoped.  However, we may have the confidence that all is in His will and purpose, and that as we walk with Him, He will continue to lead us - even if it is, as with so many of our brothers and sisters in the persecuted church,through storm and tempest.  

So, "take heart" indeed.  The heavenly Father knows your every need (see Matt.6:32), and He has promised never to leave you,nor forsake you. (Heb.13:5).

Of course, if you are not already His, then you need to make that transition from darkness into light.  There are a number of useful links towards the bottom of this page (right-hand-side) and, of course, I will be delighted to be of whatever assistance I can.  Please feel free to contact me using the e-mail address at the top of the page.

Blessings, and shalom, throughout the coming year.

Yes? - or No?

It's okay!  I know that there is only a fortnight to go before the referendum on Scottish independence (= separation!), but this post is going to be in no way political.

I have just come across a post on Facebook.  It's from 'Jesus Daily' and shows a picture that is obviously intended to represent the incarnate Lord Jesus.  The caption above reads: "I CAME, LIVED, AND DIED, AND ROSE AGAIN FOR YOU. DO YOU BELIEVE ME? Yes or No"

That is, indeed, an important question.  It reminded me of the one asked by a man named Pontius Pilate, almost 2,000 years ago: "Then what should I do with Jesus Who is called the Messiah?" (Matt.27:22).   What will you do with Jesus?   

There are many responses to that question - too many for me to deal with in one post.  There are those who, like the Pharisees and the priests, with the support of a mob, merely want to get rid of Him.  He challenges their traditions; their lifestyle; their philosophy.  "Let's get rid of Him", is their response.  However, He is not so easily dismissed - as those 1st century Jewish leaders soon found out!

Others have no particular animosity towards Him.  Indeed, like Pilate, they may even have a grudging admiration for Him.  They like His teaching - as long as it isn't too radical!  They admire His courage!  They even suspect that He is more than any ordinary man.   But they wash their hands of Him (Matt.27:24).  They can't, or won't make a decision for Him - and, by default, have made a decision against Him!

However, in every generation there are those who, even as did one of those crucified with Him, recognise His Kingship, and seek the salvation that is available only through Him. They commence a life that is so different from the life they have formerly led, that it is referred to as having been 'born again'.  It's a life that is under His control.  It's a life that is not necessarily a 'bed of roses' - as those of His disciples who live in Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, and about fifty countries in the world today, well know.  If you wish to find out more about the persecuted church, please scroll down to the links on this page.  However, as so many of them testify, it's His presence in even the direst of situations that proves His promise that he would never leave, or forsake, His followers. (see Heb.13:5).

The final tally of votes on Sept.18th will decide the future of Scotland and, to an extent, the remainder of the current United Kingdom, for generations.  Your 'Yes', or 'No', to Jesus will decide where you spend eternity.  I know which I believe to be the more important decision!

They're only Christians!

I telephoned the BBC this evening (Monday)!  It's not something that I do with any frequency, but I was - to say the least - very angry!

Watching the 6 o'clock T.V. News, I was provided with further information about the dreadful attack, in Nairobi, Kenya, when members of the militant Somali, al Qaeda-linked, Islamist Group al Shabaab ("the lads"!) launched their indiscriminate attack on shoppers in a mall, that resulted in, the deaths of at least 62 people and the wounding of over 200 others, since the brutal attack began on Saturday.  In common, I would hope,with all right-minded people, my heart goes out to the bereaved and the injured, and I trust that both the Kenyan and Somalian governments deal quickly with one of the most ruthless of all of the Islamist terrorist groups operating in these days.

However, the very next item on the programme concerned the, as yet unfounded, charges made against entertainer, Rolf Harris!  In vain, I waited to be informed of the latest news of an even greater terrorist atrocity.  At least 83 people were murdered in a double suicide bombing at All Saints Church in Peshawar, Pakistan.  Around 130 people were wounded, some of them critically.  Many of those killed and injured were children.  The Pakistani Taliban (Islamist) claimed responsibility for the attack, stating that: "They [Christians] are the enemies of Islam, therefore we target them. We will continue our attacks on non-Muslims on Pakistani land."

In Kenya, the attack took place in what has been described as a popular upmarket shopping mall. Indeed, Westgate Shopping Centre described itself as Nairobi's premier shopping mall - a "first world interior"… " where local and international shoppers feel at home". Its 80 stores included Adidas, Nike, pizza restaurants and the four floors (350,000 sq feet) centred around a waterfall. It is, according to some news reports, where the affluent of Kenyan society are to be seen - both the indigenous population, and international visitors.

By contrast, All Saints Church served a congregation of fairly ordinary Pakistani believers - indeed, many of them were reportedly receiving a free meal in the grounds of the church building when the cowardly attack took place.

Could it be that the media are simply less concerned about those who were targeted because of their religious beliefs, than with those who were caught up in an attack because they were out buying designer clothing, and purchasing 'western' fast food?

Thank God, that He is concerned with each and every one of us.  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the Name of the only Son of God." (John 3:16-18)

Baroness Warsi should broaden her vision!

 The following is the text of a letter that I have just sent to The (Glasgow) Herald newspaper.  It will, as always, be interesting to see if it is published!

"From what little I have heard and seen of Baroness Warsi, co-chair of the Conservative Party, I have concluded that she is an intelligent and charming person.  How unfortunate, then, that the noble Lady should have come out with the biassed statements, reported in the media, regarding alleged discrimination against the Muslim community in Britain.

Perhaps Baroness Warsi could direct me to the Muslim B&B owners who, like the Christian Mr and Mrs Bull - owners of the Chymorvah Private Hotel near Penzance - have been targetted by the homosexual lobby; prosecuted; and been found guilty of upholding moral values which the Baroness, as a devout Muslim, would surely have upheld herself!  She might also be willing to direct me to the Muslim counsellor who, like Lesley Pilkington, a Christian counsellor with over 20 years’ experience, is facing a Professional Conduct Panel, after an extraordinary targeting and betrayal by an undercover homosexual activist falsely pretending to be a Christian (or in that case, a Muslim) in need of help.  This particular situation, regarding Ms Pilkington, has apparently been compounded by alleged intimidation of a witness who was to speak on her behalf! 

These are just two instances on which I have posted, this week, on my blog.  I could go on to mention many more over the past year - many of them, by the way, involving the homosexual lobby!  While admittedly outwith the UK, and unlikely to be the topic of conversation around the dinner tables of Surbiton, I would be grateful for the noble Lady's opinion of the Islamist extremists in Somalia who, on January 7th, murdered a mother-of-four, in front of her community, after tapping her 'phone for proof that she had become a Christian. Would the Baroness be happy to be associated with such an atrocity since she has declared that the practice of describing Muslims as either “moderate” or “extremist” fosters prejudice against all Muslims.  Are not those Somali Muslims 'extremists'?  Is not the Baroness a 'moderate'?

Once again, it would seem that it is the indigenous (well, for many centuries!) Christian belief-system that is the only one that may be regularly and consistently attacked with apparent impunity.  Not that we disciples of Jesus should be surprised!  We are only seeing, in our generation, that which has already been foretold - see, e.g., Matt.24:4-14; Mark 13:9-13; Luke 21:12-19."

Christian mother-of-four murdered by Islamist extremists.

Islamist extremists in Somalia murdered a mother-of-four, in front of her community, after tapping her phone for proof that she had become a Christian.

Al Shabaab militants arrested Asha Mberwa at her home in Warbhigly village on the outskirts of Mogadishu on January 7 – and cut her throat in front of villagers the following day. One of Asha's relatives, who spoke to Compass Direct news agency on condition of anonymity, said he believed al Shabaab had monitored calls between him and Asha on January 5.  He said he presumed that the militants had been able to confirm she had become a Christian through their conversation. He was trying to make arrangements for her family to leave the area.

Asha, who was 36, had been receiving threatening messages for some time, he said.
Asha's four children – who are aged between four and 12 – are being cared for but are said to be very distressed. Their father, Abdinazir Mohammed Hassan, who was not at home at the time of his wife's murder, has reportedly fled and gone into hiding.

Al Shabaab insurgents control much of southern and central Somalia and are trying to impose strict Sharia (Islamic law) across the country. The transitional Government in Mogadishu has also embraced a version of Sharia which makes apostasy – leaving Islam – a capital offence.

We pray God's perfect peace, healing, comfort and protection over Asha's family; and we continue to pray for the church in Somalia, which has been forced underground by both government policy and extremists' threats, asking God to build Somali Christians' faith, and multiply their number, for His glory.

Another brutal killing.

For some months, now, many of us have been praying for a young Somali girl named Nurta who, having accepted the Lord Jesus as her Saviour, was being ill-treated by her own family.  just a few minutes ago, I learned that, in spite of having managed to escape from the treatment that was being meted out to her by her family, she has been murdered.  Here is the report:

"NAIROBI, Kenya, December 3 (CDN) — A 17-year-old girl in Somalia who converted to Christianity from Islam was shot to death last week in an apparent “honour killing,” area sources said.

Nurta Mohamed Farah, who had fled her village of Bardher, Gedo Region to Galgadud Region to live with relatives after her parents tortured her for leaving Islam, died on Nov. 25. Area sources said they strongly suspected that the two unidentified men in Galgadud Region who shot her in the chest and head with a pistol were relatives or acting on their behest.

“Reports reached the relatives in Galgadud that Nurta Farah had converted to Christianity,” one source said. “The suspicion that the family is responsible is a solid one. The sister was killed in Abudwaq, a district in Galgadud Region, and the place where the incident took place is about 200 meters from where the sister was staying with relatives.”

Relatives buried Farah, sources said. Her parents had severely beaten her for leaving Islam and regularly shackled her to a tree at their home, Christian sources said. She had been confined to her home in Gedo region in southern Somalia since May 10, when her family found out that she had embraced Christianity, said a Christian leader who visited the area.

Her parents also took her to a doctor who prescribed medication for a “mental illness,” he said. Alarmed by her determination to keep her faith, her father, Hassan Kafi Ilmi, and mother, Hawo Godane Haf, decided she had gone crazy and forced her to take the prescribed medication, but it had no effect in swaying her from her faith, the source said.

Traditionally, he added, many Somalis believe the Quran cures the sick, especially the mentally ill, so the Islamic scripture was recited to her twice a week.

She had declined her family’s offer of forgiveness in exchange for renouncing Christianity, the source said. The confinement began after the medication and punishments failed.

Area Christians had reported that Farah was shackled to a tree by day and put in a small, dark room at night.

Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government generally did not enforce protection of religious freedom found in the Transitional Federal Charter, according to the U.S. Department of State’s 2010 International Religious Freedom Report.

“Non-Muslims who practiced their religion openly faced occasional societal harassment,” the report stated. “Conversion from Islam to another religion was considered socially unacceptable. Those suspected of conversion faced harassment or even death from members of their community.”

We thank God for Nurta's faithful witness; we thank Him that she is now 'Safe in the arms of Jesus'; we pray that her death will be seen to have been not in vain, as others are led to question what it is about this Jesus that would cause a teenager to die for His Name's sake.

SOMALIA – Militants murder Christian and snatch children for military training

The following has just arrived in my mail-box and, since Somalia seems to only be in the secular news when there is piracy on the high seas, or when a westerner has been taken hostage, I want to highlight the activities of those who deal in death, violence, and abduction against Christians.

Al Shabaab insurgents in Somalia are reported to have murdered a Christian and abducted his four children for military training.  Extremists shot dead Osman Abdullah Fataho in front of his wife and children at their home in Afgoi near Mogadishu – before kidnapping the woman and her family on July 21.  They later released Osman's wife – but kept her children, who are aged five, seven, ten and 15, according to Compass Direct news agency. Compass sources suggest the children will be forcibly converted to Islam and turned into child soldiers.

Osman, who was 'deeply involved' in the activities of his secret Christian community, is reported to have been raised as a Muslim – making him an obvious target for Al Shabaab.The insurgents are determined to extend Sharia or strict Islamic law across Somalia – and are actively targeting Christians, murdering at least 15 of them last year alone. Al Shabaab recently outlawed bell-ringing at the end of school classes – because it evoked the sound of church bells.  Compass Direct reports that this and other instances of anti-Christian violence have forced several leaders of Somalia's underground Christian movement to flee their homes and go into hiding.

Those of us who are disciples of Jesus would want to ask God to comfort and strengthen Osman's grieving and traumatised family, and to pray that his children will be rescued and reunited with their mother.  We would also want to pray that God will protect and multiply His church in Somalia so that they will 'shine like stars' in this troubled land (Philippians 2:15).