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Topic: News From British Isles, Ireland, Europe and Worldwide
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News Room
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Joined: 07/25/2004
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Posts: 6560
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Posted: 08/06/2015 at 11:46am
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News From British Isles, Ireland, Europe and Worldwide
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Metal for Jesus |
Heavy metal music has roots
in psychedelic rock, with amplified distortion, extended guitar solos, loud
satanic lyrics and names like Black Sabbath. Rivalling satanic music since the
70s have been Christian metal bands, also known as white metal or heavenly
metal. Its a form of heavy metal music defined by a Christian message in the
lyrics as well as the dedication of the band members to Christianity. Many
Christian bands are evangelists. There is also a Metal Bible that has been used
by Christians to reach this lost tribe of music lovers. The Metal Bible was
recently released in Danish, where 9,000 were distributed at the Roskilde Heavy
Metal Festival. This Bible is available in English, Spanish, German, Swedish,
Danish, Polish and Dutch. Versions in Russian, French, Portuguese and other
languages are on the way. (See also Europe article 1) |
Praise: |
God for this
mega-cool special Bible that is available for metal-heads and is being used
powerfully to bring people on the edge into Gods
Kingdom. | |
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Morocco: People reaching out with the
Gospel |
Melilla is located on the
Mediterranean Sea coast on Moroccan Land, but has been under Spanish rule for
hundreds of years, defying Morocco's claims to it . This city is an open door
for the Gospel, and a way into North Africa. In recent years Melilla has been
adopted by several groups worldwide, where teams would be sent to evangelise and
distribute Christian material to North Africans. Lebanon is one of the countries
that have adopted Melilla. 2015 would be the third year teams go to Melilla from
Lebanon to distribute New Testaments and different evangelistic tools. Almost
700 evangelistic packages have been distributed to bless and change peoples
lives and many positive conversations were had. This August, eleven college
students will spend time in Melilla, sharing their faith and giving away Bibles
and other Christian items. Theyre praying for hearts to be softened and many
respond to the gospel. |
Praise: |
God for
these teams and all who hear His call to step out in faith and trust Him to use
them. Pray for a thriving Arabic-speaking church to be planted in Melilla.
(Ac.8:4) | |
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Probe over ex PM, devout Christian Ted
Heath |
The handling of a child sex
abuse claim involving former Prime Minister and devout Christian Sir Edward
Heath is to be investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission
(IPCC). Police are to be probed after allegations made by a retired senior
officer were referred to the IPCC. It is alleged that a criminal prosecution was
not pursued, when a person threatened to expose Sir Edward Heaths possible
involvement in offences concerning children. Sir Edward was the editor of the
Church Times between 1948 and 1949 before his election as Member of Parliament
in 1950. Police say they would like to hear from anyone who has any relevant
information that may assist them in their enquiries. The NSPCC said, Whether
abuse happened in the past, or is occurring today, whether those being accused
are authority figures or not, allegations of crimes against children must be
investigated thoroughly. |
Pray: |
for the
media to remember that a person is innocent until proven guilty and for anything
hidden to be revealed.
(Mt.6:13) | |
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Catholic Church pro-active approach to clerical sexual
abuse |
The Catholic Church will
apply nationally a project that pro-actively approaches sexual abuse by clergy.
A recent pilot of the system resulted in doubling the number of people reporting
abuse in a nine-month period. A Survivors Advisory Panel will assist the
National Catholic Safeguarding Commission in England and Wales. A Minister and
Clergy Sexual Abuse Survivors spokesperson said allegations of abuse in the
Catholic Church and the Church of England should be dealt with independently.
Whilst both Churches have improved their policies and guidance there are really
strong concerns about how policies are implemented. Its down to individual
bishops to decide when to report allegations to the police and what action to
take. The increased number of prosecutions of clergy for abuse suggests this is
an ongoing problem and the response of the Churches in the past leads us to
believe they cannot be trusted to police themselves. See
also |
Pray: |
for the
Churches and independent bodies as they work to improve the handling of
allegations. (Ps.45:4) | |
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David Cameron accused by some of lack of compassion over asylum
crisis |
Speaking with the backing of
the Church of England, the bishop of Dover accused the Government of forgetting
their humanity and attacked the media for propagating a toxicity that spread
hostility towards migrants. The Right Rev Trevor Willmott urged Mr Cameron to
upgrade his rhetoric after he described migrants as a swarm and promised to
introduce strong-arm tactics in Calais. Willmott said, When we become harsh
with each other and forget our humanity we end up in stand-off positions. To put
migrants and refugees in that very unhelpful phrase categorises people. Save
the Children echoed Willmotts call to remember that the migrants were humans
and many were refugees fleeing horrific abuse or extreme danger. The deputy
mayor of Calais called the prime minister racist and the UN special
representative on migration said Britains attitude towards the crisis suggested
the lessons of Nazism had not been learnt. |
Pray: |
for the
British and French governments to draw up workable processes that prevent
escalating border violence.
(Pr.29:11) | |
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BBC documentary reveals schoolchildren rude and
idle |
Chinese teachers give
instruction for 12 hours a day and Chinese schools are at the top of
international ratings in maths, sciences and literacy. Recently, five Chinese
teachers spent a month teaching in a Hampshire school analysing teaching methods
in the UK. The teachers found their group of 50 children, aged 13 and 14, were
disruptive and unable to concentrate. Li Aiyun said, When I gave out homework
sheets, I expected everybody to be concentrated on the homework. But when I
returned to the classroom students were chatting, some were eating and somebody
was even putting make-up on her face. The Chinese teachers blamed lack of
motivation on poor performances. Science teacher Yang Jun said, In China we
dont need classroom management skills because everyone is disciplined by
nature, by families, by society - whereas here it is the most challenging part
of teaching. The Chinese methods are to be screened in a BBC Two documentary,
Are Our Kids Tough Enough? |
Pray: |
against
classroom disruption in British schools and pray for the teachers to maintain
the balance of respect for the students and the students' respect for their
teachers. (Pr.22:6) | |
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Ofsted accused of 'ignoring' the bullying of Christian
students |
Colin Hart, director of the
Christian Institute has said Ofsted and the Department for Education have given
inadequate attention to the bullying of Christian pupils. His remarks follow
a recent letter from the schools chief inspector addressing the issue of
schools caught up in the so-called Trojan Horse scandal, which alleged Muslim
groups were seeking to gain control of schools in Birmingham. In a letter
addressed to the Education Secretary, Mr Hart said it was striking that
official reports listed explicit examples of anti-Christian intolerance in
several schools involved in the scandal but none of these are noted in the
Ofsted reports on those schools. He wrote, You will see they include
anti-Christian chanting in assemblies, GCSE pupils who opted to learn
Christianity being left to teach themselves and Christians being called
ignorant or liars by teachers. He went on to say that it was disturbing to
witness a complete lack of any specific plans of action to tackle
anti-Christian intolerance. |
Pray: |
for
structures that detect intolerance to improve and for religious issues to be
resolved. (Zech.7:9) | |
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Euthanasia: Doctor slams NICE end-of-life
guidelines |
A leading doctor has slammed
new guidelines prepared to replace the much-criticised Liverpool Care Pathway
(LCP). Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Dr Patrick Pullcino, Professor of
Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Kent, says the draft guidelines
prepared by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) are
even worse than the LCP. Christian Voice reported on the NICE guidelines based
on a BBC article which was positive about the development. It seems they were
wrong and they say, There can be no doubt the BBC article was based on a press
release from NICE, who appear to have put a positive spin on their work,
claiming that they were calling for basic daily checks to make sure patients are
well hydrated and nourished. We observed this was a radical departure from the
LCP.' NICE went on to say that families would be encouraged to be more closely
involved in care if appropriate and safe. |
Pray: |
for clear
humane guidelines for end-of-life care that adhere to biblical
principles. | |
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Tony
Blair should stand trial for war crime over
Iraq? |
Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn, a
leading candidate to head the Labour party, has said former Labour Prime
Minister Tony Blair should be tried for war crimes over the 2003 Iraq war if
evidence shows he broke international law. At the time when Britain joined a
US-led invasion of Iraq, despite widespread public opposition, Corbyn organised
mass protests against the war. Blair has previously said he had no regrets over
the invasion, saying Saddam Hussein was a threat who had to be disarmed or
removed. Corbyn said the long-running inquiry into the Iraq invasion needed to
tackle unanswered questions about how Blair decided to get involved in the war.
Lengthy delays to the publication of the report have frustrated MPs, including
David Cameron who on Tuesday urged its independent head, John Chilcot, to set
out a timetable for the publication of his findings. |
Pray: |
for the
overdue Chilcot report to be honest in its evaluations and released soon for
perusal. (Pr.8:7) | |
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Germany: Heavy Metal festivals Summer
2015 |
Large Heavy Metal Festivals
take place in Germany in the summer. These festivals are really Satan worship,
even though many taking part are not actually aware of it. The spiritual
consequences within Germany should not be underestimated. From August 13-16 in
southern Germany, the Death Metal Festival takes place. Last year there were
35,000 visitors. This year 80+ bands are performing. The style of music is
Extreme Metal, Death Metal, Black Metal and Thrash Metal. The lyrics express a
destructive worldview denial of every order that relates to our existence,
knowledge, values and societies often combined with total resignation. Song
themes are often about death, disease, war, torture, horror and societal
abnormalities, and extend to hatred of humanity and promotion of Satanism.
Please pray for the spiritual protection of dedicated Christians evangelising at
these festivals with the Metal Bible (a modern translation with many
testimonies from people out of the Metal music scene- see Praise article
1) |
Pray: |
that people
will be open to the gospel and show interest in the Metal Bible, for the
deliverance and salvation of many and for the protection of children and young
people. (Ac.10:42) | |
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German MP opens home to two
migrants |
German conservative MP,
Martin Patzelt, has taken two Eritrean refugees into his home and is helping the
young men find jobs locally. Mr Patzelt lives near Frankfurt in eastern Germany.
The Eritreans have been staying with him for a month. Such initiatives help to
get rid of the polarisation and hostility towards migrants, he told German TV.
Eritrea has an authoritarian government which forces citizens into military
service - often for many years and in deplorable conditions. Generally Eritreans
and Syrians are granted refugee status when they reach Germany, allowing them to
stay there. However Germany is gripped by an intense debate over migrants.
Numbers have soared this year due to boatloads crossing the Mediterranean.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Patzelt said many admired his commitment, but his
motivation was political, not religious; hostility towards the influx of
refugees could only be solved by engaging ordinary German
citizens. |
Pray: |
for more
people, who are able, to house people fleeing from war and oppressive regimes.
(Mt.25:35) | |
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Burundi: High-profile assassination has country on
edge |
On Sunday General
Nshimirimana's pick-up was hit by two rockets and sprayed with automatic gunfire
- days after President Nkurunziza was declared winner of a controversial
election and months of fierce government crackdowns on opposition and an
attempted coup. General Nshimirimana was behind the crackdown on protests and
foiling the coup attempt. A source in the presidency said, The situation is
very serious, the general was essential, we are trying to manage a difficult
situation. Our boys want to take revenge. You cannot imagine what the General
represented for us. Another top pro-Nkurunziza general said, They have
declared war and they will see what they get. Then a second assassination on
Monday of human rights defender Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa (one of the last
remaining human rights activists working during the crisis) has increased risks
of a new season of war. Targeted killings have been part of the landscape
recently, but none as high-profile as these two, and arms are proliferating
among civilians, with shooting through the night in many
neighbourhoods. |
Pray: |
against
waves of further revenge attacks in the coming hours and days. Ask God to
protect and comfort innocent civilians caught in the middle of
chaos.(Ps.72:4) | |
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America: Fracking - hundreds of earthquakes a year in
Oklahoma |
According to state-conducted
research, widespread fracking and fracking wastewater injection have transformed
the state of Oklahoma from a place that had an average of two tiny earthquakes a
year to the most seismically active area in the United States. In fact, the
massive surge in fracking-related quakes has even alerted Oklahoma Geological
Survey (OGS) as to the existence of many formerly stable and dormant underground
faults that it didnt previously know existed. EcoWatch reported, Oklahoma was
never big earthquake country but in the last six years their numbers have
surged, going from an average of two a year over 3.0 magnitude to 585 last year,
surpassing California as the USs most seismically active state. The state of
Oklahoma has even set up its own earthquake website, whereon it states this rise
in seismic events has the attention of scientists, citizens, policymakers, media
and industry. After 35 fracking earthquakes rocked Oklahoma in the first week of
July the state has had more pressure than ever on it to put a damper on the
cause before things get out of hand. |
Pray: |
for EcoWatch
and others to be listened to and for the safety of people living in Oklahoma.
(Mt.6:24) | |
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Israel: Things happening in Israel right
now |
Last week there was a gay
pride parade in Jerusalem. An orthodox Jewish man rushed into the parade and
stabbed six people, wounding two seriously and one very seriously. The Supreme
Court ordered that some homes built illegally in Beit El (Jewish settlement in
Samaria) should be destroyed. This took place on the anniversary of the
expulsion of the settlers from Gaza. Riots ensued that pitted Jew against Jew.
On Monday a delegation of Jewish and Muslim religious leaders convened outside
the Department of Pediatric Intensive Care at Sheba Medical Centre, to pray for
the well-being of the victims of the Jewish firebomb terror attack on a
Palestinian family last Friday morning. Also far-right activist Meir Ettinger
was arrested for heading a cell planning to commit a series of violent acts
against Palestinians. As part of the plan he branded the revolt which would
light the flames of conflict and anarchy in Israel. See
also |
Pray: |
for the Lord
to heal the divisions that exist among people living in Israel and that many
people will find the ultimate solution in Yeshua.
(Ps.133:1) | |
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Thousands of Christians who fled IS facing long-term refugee
status |
Christians forced to flee
Islamic State last year are still living in refugee camps and losing hope of
ever returning home. Mosul-born Chaldean Catholic Sahar Mansour is now living in
the refugee camp at Ankawa after being driven from his home by militants last
year. There are more than 1,700 Syriac Catholic families living in the camp,
ministered to by priests including Father Bashar Kthea, who himself fled from
Qaraqosh last August. Qaraqosh was once home to Iraq's largest Christian
community. It was overrun by Islamic State jihadists in 2014. Writing on behalf
of Father Kthea to Catholic News Service Mansour said there is growing
discontentment and frustration in the camp, particularly among young people for
whom there are few prospects. The majority of the young people are thinking not
to stay in Erbil anymore and they do their best to flee, Sahar
said. |
Pray: |
for refugees
to have a better life as they wait and hope to return to their homeland.
(Ps.37:18) | |
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Canada: North Korea shows captive Canadian pastor
confessing |
Last month we reported on a
Canadian Church having very little information about their founding pastor,
Hyeon Soo Lim, detained in North Korea since early March. On 2 August North
Korea released video footage of him confessing that he had committed crimes
against the state. Dressed in a dark blue suit and tie Lim appeared to be
reading from a script. The worst crime I committed was to rashly defame and
insult the highest dignity and the system of the republic. Last week he
appeared before the media confessing to crimes aimed at overthrowing the state
and was quoted saying he had travelled to North Korea in the guise of
humanitarian work to gather information that he used outside the country to
drive the regime to a collapse. Lim, a Canadian citizen, has over the years
visited North Korea and established an orphanage and a nursing
home. |
Pray: |
for the
Canadian government to secure Lim's release, pray against North Koreas further
clamp down on Christian groups and pray for Lim to be a strong witness for
Christ while being held captive.
(Ps.10:14) | |
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China: International concern as more lawyers
detained |
United Nations human rights
experts, the European Union, UK, US and others have expressed concern regarding
the detention of over 200 lawyers and activists in China since 10 July. (See
Prayer-Alert 15July) On 16 July, five UN independent experts called on the
Chinese authorities to stop harassing and intimidating lawyers and their
colleagues, stating that Lawyers are essential to ensure the rule of law; they
need to be protected not harassed. The British Embassy in Beijing expressed
deep concern about the detentions. The US strongly urged China to release all
those who have recently been detained for seeking to protect the rights of
Chinese citizens. Last week, the UKs Law Society wrote to the Chinese Premier
raising concerns about the situation. The US Congressional-Executive Commission
on China, said the wave of repression constitutes an undeniable setback in
US-China relations. |
Pray: |
for
international pressure to establish the release of 236 lawyers and family
members. (Is.59:14,15) | |
More: |
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Australia: Christians call time to defend the faith
with flowers |
A private members bill to
legalise same sex marriage is expected to be presented to Federal Parliament in
the week beginning Monday 10 August. In response to this move Christian
ministries and organisations are asking Christians across the nation to defend
their faith and make a visible statement to Australias national leaders of
their desire for the definition of marriage to remain as being between a man and
a woman. Christians are asked to say Thank you with Flowers to Australian PMs
who are valiantly defending the existing Biblical Covenant of Marriage between a
man and a woman. Flowers are used to express thanks for life from the heart and
Christians are going to take steps to set in place a carpet of flowers at
Parliament House, Canberra on 10 August as a united expression of prayer and
thanks to our Prime Minister and those supporting traditional marriage in
Parliament. |
Pray: |
for
thousands to respond to this call and book delivery of flowers to the steps of
Parliament.(Gen.2:22) Source: Prayer Alert - World Prayer Centre UK
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