The weather has been delightfully glorious of late here in my corner of the world.
The cherry blossom is absolutely delightful – and put me in mind of this poem. I always associate Autumn with a certain amount of melancholy but this poem also evokes it for me – particularly as I first read it when [...]
Filed under: Seasons, Weather on April 24th, 2009 | 2 Comments »
For Christians living in situations of persecution, Good Friday sums up their experience of being crucified with Christ. But after Good Friday comes Easter Sunday, the glorious day of resurrection and the empty tomb. Persecuted Christians live with the sure and certain hope that their suffering will end in glory.
A joy-filled Easter to all my [...]
Filed under: Christianity on April 12th, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Yemen
Languages: Arabic
In the centuries following Christ’s death and resurrection Christianity was strong in the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, known today as Yemen, and it was ruled by a line of Christian kings. Its Christian heritage did not survive the influx of Islam after Muslim forces conquered the area in the 7th century AD.
There [...]
Filed under: Christianity on April 11th, 2009 | Comments Off
Martyrs
Today we are thinking about those who have died for their faith.
Since Jesus’ sacrifice of love, many Christians have stubbornly clung to this love even unto death and thus in turn have borne witness to its reality and power.
In the West we may think of martyrs as being associated with turbulent times in our history [...]
Filed under: Christianity on April 10th, 2009 | Comments Off
Vietnam
Languages: Vietnamese, Thai, Khmer, Chinese, many local languages
The consititution of Vietnam guarantees freedom of religion and belief but the reality is quite different. Beatings, starvation, torture are common for the many Christians imprisoned for their faith.
Vietnam has been under communist rule since 1975. While the growing Catholic Church enjoys a limited amount of freedom to [...]
Filed under: Christianity on April 9th, 2009 | Comments Off
Uzbekistan
Languages: Uzbek, Russian, Tajik, Kazakh
Even though it is officially a secular state Uzbekistan is considered to be one of the worst of the central Asian countries in terms of religious freedom. The government places severe restrictions on all religious activities – registration is required for churches but is difficult to obtain. Christians are not allowed [...]
Filed under: Christianity on April 8th, 2009 | 4 Comments »
Whilst Christians are focusing on Holy Week this week, Jews are celebrating Passover. The BBC’s nod to the festival is a 30-minute programme remembering the Kindertransport of 70 years ago. Gentle readers will be familiar with the story of 10,000 German and Austrian Jewish children who were sent to the UK to escape the ever-increasing [...]
Filed under: Austria, Culture, Germany on April 7th, 2009 | Comments Off
Turkmenistan
Languages: Turkmen, Russian
To have a place to meet is vital for a community of believers. Yet in Turkmenistan this issue poses one of the biggest challenges for the Church as the government controls, obstructs and prevents the building, buying or renting of religious meeting-places and places of worship. Churches can obtain a meeting place only [...]
Filed under: Christianity on April 7th, 2009 | Comments Off
Before you all leap to your feet, hymn book in hand, and start singing with the sound of the organ reverberating around your head, I should perhaps mention that this is the title of a book by one Charlie Connelly.
In it, the author walks upon England’s mountains green following in the footsteps of historical characters [...]
Filed under: Books on April 6th, 2009 | Comments Off
Turkey
Languages: Turkish, Kurdish
Present-day Turkey was known to the Romans as Asia Minor and is the area in which the seven churches of Revelation are located. After Jesus’ death and resurrection Christianity spread rapidly here and there were (now famous) communities in Ephesus and Galatia. The capital, now Istanbul, used to be called Constantinople and was [...]
Filed under: Christianity on April 6th, 2009 | Comments Off