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Wednesday, May 25, 2011
While Christians In Eastern Countries Are Attacked and Killed Western Countries Do Nothing To Try And Stop Them
- Article by: MARK GRANQUIST
- Updated: May 22, 2011 - 8:49 PM
Around the world, and especially in Africa and Asia, Christian populations are suffering severe discrimination and brutal attacks. Thousands are being killed. Systematic campaigns are being waged against Christians simply because of their faith, and it is not too dramatic to suggest that these are forms of ethnic cleansing and genocide.
Yet there is little awareness of these continuing atrocities in the West, and even less response.
Christianity is no longer a predominantly Western religion. Since 1900, there has been a startling growth of Christianity in Latin America, Africa and Asia, to the point that now, 65 percent of the world's 2 billion Christians live on one of those three continents. Christians now constitute the largest single religious group in Africa. Close to 350 million Christians live in Asia. But this dramatic growth has also fanned the flames of religious persecution and hatred against them.
In northern Nigeria, deadly religious violence occurs with regularity, killing hundreds at a time. Christians in Ethiopia have seen the destruction of 57 churches; thousands of Christians have been displaced, and some have been killed. In Sudan, the government has waged a decades-old war against Christians in southern part of the country. In Egypt, radicals now use the façade of democratic reforms to ramp up their continuing war against Coptic Christians, while the army looks the other way. Christians have lived in Iraq for 1,800 years, but recent violence threatens their very existence as a community. In Pakistan, religious violence and anti-blasphemy laws are used to suppress Christians, while prominent Christian politicians and their defenders are assassinated. In India, religious radicals attack Christian converts, while courts and political assemblies take away their rights. Religious violence against Christians occurs with depressing regularity in Indonesia, while the Chinese government cracks down on Christian churches, especially those that have chosen not to register with the communist government. In many countries around the world, anti-Christian activists have hijacked political processes to codify severe discrimination against Christians, making it illegal to convert to Christianity, while encouraging conversions from Christianity.
If you were to read carefully in the media, it would be easy to compile a much longer list of outrages; many other incidents are never covered in the Western press. There is certainly enough evidence to suggest that there are organized campaigns of terror and death against Christians in Africa and Asia. Groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Al-Qaida in Iraq, the Taliban in Pakistan and Hindu fundamentalists in India (among others) openly admit their actions against Christian populations.
Yet the silence from the world community is deafening. Occasionally the U.S. State Department will issue some toothless protest after a particularly egregious event, but nothing ever seems to change. The world community seems to notice little, and to care even less; many "moderates" in Asian and African countries seem cowed by the violence.
Western countries seem to have a double standard when it comes to the rights of religious groups around the world, especially religious minorities. Just look at the widespread indignation that occurred when a lunatic pastor and his congregation in Florida threatened to burn a copy of the Qur'an. The media was (rightly) filled with denunciations. But a similar desecration of a Christian work or holy symbol is usually met with little or no response.
The world, especially the West, has an exquisite sensibility to the rights of non-Christians around the world. But Christians are suffering daily in Africa and Asia. Where is the outrage?
Indiana University Bloomington's Campus Says There Is No Place On Campus For Christian Restaurant Chick-Fil-A
Posted on May 25th, 2011 at 7:45 am by Scott Tibbs
“Chick-Fil-A has no place on Indiana University Bloomington’s campus, A campus that values diversity!” – Tagline for the “Kick Chic-Fil-A off IUB’s Campus!” group on Facebook.
OK, so let me get this straight: In order for Indiana University Bloomington to value diversity, we must practice discrimination by banning Chick-fil-A from campus for holding opinions that are not approved by militant homosexuals. Somehow, I am pretty sure that discrimination does not honor diversity and tolerance.
Militant homosexuals claim to want “tolerance,” but that is a fraud. What they actually demand is acceptance. If you do not accept homosexuality as a moral choice, you must be censored and/or punished. This is a very intolerant way of dealing with disagreement, but this is nothing new for militant homosexuals at Indiana University.
We saw this in action back in 2003, when militant homosexuals demanded that the university censor Professor Eric Rasmusen’s MyPage site due to politically incorrect statements on his blog. (See previous articles from September 8, 2003, September 14, 2003, September 21, 2003, September 24, 2003 and October 4, 2003.)
Acceptance is very different from tolerance. As Mike Adams points out, “Tolerance presupposes a moral judgment.” Militant homosexuals who demand that Chic-fil-A be punished for donations to unapproved issue-advocacy organizations do not know the first thing about tolerance. For them, it is “My way or the highway.”
Let’s keep in mind that there is absolutely no evidence that Chick-fil-A has in any way discriminated against any student at Indiana University, either in employment or in providing services to customers. If that were the case, there would be legitimate grounds for removing the chain from campus. Simple disagreement with homosexuality is not legitimate grounds for punishment by the Thought Police that militant homosexuals fantasize about.
Finally, read the description for the group written by an alleged “student” at Indiana University:
As many of you know Chick-fil-a is a chain of restaurants that Openly donate food and money to some of the most hateful Anti-Gay organizations in the country including Focus on the Family, the Ruth Institute, the National Organization for marriage, and many others!
Chick-Fil-A is currently located in the basement of The Wells library, a place thousands of students pass through everyday. The library is a place where every student, facility member, and staff member should feel welcomed and safe. This can be hard to do when a company that is so ingrained in the Anti-Gay movement is right under their noses.
As Students we have a voice and the right to stand up and defend ourselves and our University against Homophobia and Bigotry!
"The Lion King' and "Beauty and The Beast" Animator Leaves Disney For God
By Eryn Sun | Christian Post Correspondent
When Davy Liu left behind a six-figure salary and a job most animators could only dream about, it was only just the beginning.
For the former Disney animator who worked on such classic films as “The Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Aladdin” and “Mulan,” one mission stood above the rest – fulfilling God’s will for his life.
In an interview with The Gospel Herald, Liu shared about his new, God-given dreams, which were no longer centered on winning an Oscar, but on doing the Kingdom’s work, despite financial obstacles and family disapproval.
“Fulfilling the will of God is more important than earning worldly wealth because the treasures on earth are temporary, but the treasures stored in heaven are for an eternity,” Liu stated.
Having worked in Hollywood for over a decade ever since he was 19, the talented artist revealed why he chose to abandon such an illustrious and highly coveted job, during what appeared to be the very pinnacle of his career.
“When I worked in Disney, deep down in my heart, I was always discontent. At that time, I thought to myself, ‘Why is it that movies and artworks produced by Christian film are oftentimes made with low budgets or made in an unattractive manner?’”
“[I] asked God in my prayer and God told me that it is because good artists have given their best to the world.”
Desiring to offer his best to God instead, Liu decided to quit his job and dedicate himself to producing inspiring, character-based animated stories of faith.
“I hope to inspire young souls to experience life through faith,” he explained in a statement. “There is more to life than meets the eye.”
At 31, Liu founded Kendu Films, a unique media company dedicated to producing inspiring stories of faith. Adopted from Philippians 4:13, which states, “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength,” he created the name “Kendu,” which is pronounced like “can do.”
The Taiwan-born animator, with inspiration from “The Lion King” and personal devotions spent in Scripture, developed the idea to create a series of Bible-themed animations, with each story depicting a Bible story from the perspective of an animal.
From script writing to background drawing, there is no detail that Liu is not thoroughly responsible for.
Entitled the “Invisible Tails” series, Liu plans to complete 12 stories over 12 years, culminating in an animated movie based on all 12 books. The first four books have already been published in a condensed form, hoping to garner attention for potential investors. The works include: “Giant Leaf,” “Fire Fish,” “Jordan’s Guest” and “The Royal Feast.”
“My vision is that our animated films’ final measure of success will not be the volume of Happy Meals or toys sold, but that we inspire and instill into our future generations more courage, truth, honesty, and integrity,” he relayed in a statement.
Although some of his stories have been published as children’s books, the Herald explains that Liu actually produced the animations for adults.
“The truth is that grown-ups really enjoy watching animations – little children do not understand the hidden message. The recent box-office hits such as ‘Toy Story’ and ‘Up’ produced by Pixar all have very touching messages.”
“Most people have misconceptions of Jesus and don’t understand the culture from within, let alone, understand the Bible,” he added. By watching the Bible stories in theaters, Liu hopes that audiences everywhere will be able to relate to the characters and experience the power of God.
With no regrets about giving up his Hollywood career, having also worked with George Lucas, the Warner Brothers Animation, and other notable corporations, Liu finds every day joyful.
No End In Site For NATO In Libya
BRUSSELS (AP) -- The military campaign in Libya began with what seemed a narrowly defined mission: to enforce a no-fly zone and protect civilians from attack.
Two months later, the campaign has evolved into a ferocious pounding of the country's capital, Tripoli, in what appears an all-out effort to oust Moammar Gadhafi. But that goal remains elusive, raising the prospect of a quagmire in the desert. And the political will of the countries involved is being sorely tested.
The Libyan opposition remains weak. NATO, the North Atlantic military alliance which took over command of the campaign from the U.S. on March 31, appears to have no clear exit strategy. Two of the allies, Britain and France, have descended into public squabbling over bringing the fight closer to Gadhafi with attack helicopters. And the French foreign minister said Tuesday his country's willingness to continue the campaign was not endless.
Part of the challenge lies in the original U.N. resolution: It authorized the use of air power but forbade ground troops, even as it authorized "all necessary means" to protect civilians following Gadhafi's brutal suppression of the popular uprising against his rule.
From Yugoslavia to Iraq, recent history has shown that ousting a regime through air power alone is, at best, exceedingly difficult.
In Libya, it is not for lack of trying. What seemed at first to be limited strikes on military targets - tanks heading for the rebel-held city of Benghazi here, some anti-aircraft batteries there - has now expanded to the point that early Tuesday saw the biggest bombardment of the capital since the conflict began.
The targets have come to include, for example, Gadhafi's presidential compound; one of the leader's sons was killed April 30. NATO's official line is that the compound was a command-and-control center and it was not trying to kill Gadhafi. But clearly no one in the alliance would have shed a tear had the Libyan leader died.
There are signs of frustration, or perhaps desperation, among the allies. To avoid anti-aircraft fire, the campaign at first relied largely on high-altitude precision bombing, generally from above 15,000 feet (4,500 meters) - nearly three miles (five kilometers) high. But France said Monday that it now plans to deploy helicopter gunships to hit targets more precisely in urban areas while risking the lives of fewer civilians.
So far, no allied servicemen or women have been killed in the campaign. But by using helicopters and flying far lower, the French would be putting their pilots at greater risk, underscoring their intense desire to finish the Libyan operation sooner rather than later.
"I can assure you that our will is to ensure that the mission in Libya does not last longer than a few months," Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said during a question-and-answer session at the French parliament Tuesday.
He said the action "may take days, weeks in my opinion (but) certainly not months."
The danger to pilots could be significant. Although Libya's surface-to-air missile network has been effectively destroyed, Gadhafi's forces are said to retain hundreds of heavy machine guns, automatic cannon and shoulder-launched missiles that would pose a danger to helicopters at lower altitudes.
In past conflicts, NATO has shied away from using slow-moving and low-flying helicopters and AC-130 gunships against opponents with such weaponry.
Facebook Page Calls For Beating Of Saudi Women Drivers
A campaign has been launched on Facebook calling for men to beat Saudi women who drive their cars in a planned protest next month against the ultra-conservative kingdom's ban on women taking the wheel.
The call comes as activists are demanding the release of Manal al-Sharif, a Saudi woman who was jailed for defying the ban.
The page, titled "The Iqal Campaign: June 17 for preventing women from driving," refers to the Arabic name for the cord used to hold on the traditional headdress worn by many men in the Gulf, advocating the cord be used to hit women who dare to drive.
It has drawn over 6,000 "likes" on the popular social networking website.
Some on the page proposed distributing boxes of Iqals to youths and encouraging them use them to hit women who participate in the June 17 protest.
One joked about the price of Iqals going up due to men buying them before the protest.
The issue has sparked debate in the Saudi press.
The renowned novelist Abdo Khal, writing in Okaz, deplored the ban on women driving, and said he did not know "whether to laugh or cry" over the proposed Iqal campaign.
Ahmed Sayed Atif, writing in Al-Watan, called for women be allowed to drive, and that they not arrested for not possessing a driver's licence, as can happen now.
Meanwhile, a Facebook page titled "We are all Manal al-Sharif: a call for solidarity with Saudi women's rights," has been growing in popularity, with its number of "likes" rising by about 5,000 to more than 19,000 in a day.
"It is not a revolution, it is not a plot, it is not a gathering and it is not a protest -- we are only requesting to drive our cars," one post on the page said.
And a petition launched by Gulf intellectuals calling for the release of Sharif has garnered over 300 signatures.
According to Al-Watan, a 37-year-old Saudi woman who had repeated Sharif's experiment in driving in the town of Al-Ras, northeast of Riyadh, was arrested at a supermarket by a police patrol accompanied by members of the religious police.
She was driving with her mother and aunt at the time, according to the newspaper, which said she was released a few hours later.
Dog Nurses New Born Liger Cubs In China's Xixiakou Zoo
Two liger cubs - a cross between a male lion and a female tiger - are being nursed by a dog at a zoo in Weihai, eastern China.
Four cubs were born at the Xixiakou Wildlife Zoo earlier this month but only two survived.
The mother stopped feeding the cubs after a few days so the dog, which had recently had its own puppies, was enlisted to help.
Ligers are extremely rare and are thought to only be born in captivity.
Zoo spokesman Cong Wen said it was not clear why the tiger had stopped feeding her cubs, the Associated Press reports.
But she said that after some initial problems, the pair were feeding well from their canine stepmother.
Although they are a different species, tigers and lions are able to breed together.
Ligers are the largest known cat, usually growing much larger than either parent.
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