Greetings! What an interesting “holiday season” we had here in the U.S! Added to the standard flurry of activity at the end of the year was the debate over whether using the word “Christmas” to describe things associated with the season (sales, parties, trees, concerts, etc.) is acceptable, or whether “holiday” or “winter” had better be used. Some chose to boycott stores who opted out of references to Christmas. Later others got in a huff and commentators had a field day over the fact that some churches chose not to hold services on Christmas Day. Meanwhile, it was perfectly acceptable for stores to put up merchandise displays with signage wishing patrons a Happy Hanukkah.

Bottom line: it is hard to minister in a society where the playing field is not level. Do you ever feel that way as a pastor or church leader? It is so confusing, because while we are largely considered a Christian nation, our society has such a hard time with anything that might appear Christian. I even heard one reporter suggest that carols be sanitized by removing all references to deity or Christ. I mused, “I’d like to see them do that with the Hallelujah Chorus.”

I confess I’d gotten rather exasperated with all of it. But then on Jan 8th my wife and I went to see The Chronicles of Narnia. I found myself grinning at the irony; certain parties in our culture did all they could to leave the Savior out of Christmas, but there He was on the big screen, the gospel story played out for anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear. Happy New Year, Dave

Earlier this month Compass Direct released their list of the Top Ten News Stories of 2005. They are, in brief:

1. Dramatic Spike in Eritrea Eritrea dramatically accelerated its imprisonment of Christians even as the U.S. State Department designated it as a Country of Particular Concern for the second consecutive year. By October the number of Eritrean Christians imprisoned for their religious beliefs had shot up to a total of 1,778. Since May 2002, the Eritrean government has outlawed all Christian meetings for worship except those of the officially registered Orthodox, Catholic, and Lutheran churches—but in 2005 the regime began harassing and jailing key leaders of even the legally recognized churches.

2. Hollow Promises in Vietnam The Vietnam Prime Minister’s historic visit to the U.S. in June, an equally historic human rights agreement between the two countries in May, and supposedly less restrictive religion legislation introduced in Nov 2004 all made headlines but had no effect on continued high levels of persecution. In spite of the flurry of official activity, Vietnam remained on the U.S. State Department’s list of the world’s worst violators of religious freedom in 2005.

3. State Sponsored Persecution in Iran The death of Ghorban Dordi Touani, a 53-year-old house church pastor, came just days after Iran’s new hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told an open meeting of the nation’s 30 provincial governors that the government needed to put a stop to the burgeoning movement of house churches across Iran. “I will stop Christianity in this country.” Ahmadinejad reported vowed. Before the end of November representatives of the Ministry of Intelligence and Security has arrested and severely tortured 10 other Christians in several cities.

4. Massive Destruction in Pakistan On Nov 12, some 2,000 Muslims armed with iron rods, axes, and tins of kerosene ransacked and looted four churches, a convent, and mission-run school and several Christian homes in Sangla Hill after the alleged burning of the Quran by Catholic Christian Yousaf Masih led local mosques to appeal for Muslims to “teach the Christians a lesson.” Sangla Hill police also arrested 4 of Masih’s brothers and burned the homes of Masih and his brothers to the ground. On December 2, Muslim clerics flanked by government officials demanded the public execution of Masih.

5. Sunday School Teachers Jailed in Indonesia On Sept 1 Indonesian judges sentenced 3 women to 3 years in prison for allowing Muslim children to attend a Christian Sunday school program. The women were found guilty of violating the Child Protection Act of 2002, which forbids “deception, lies or enticement” causing a child to convert to another religion. The Sunday school teachers has instructed the children to get permission from their parents before attending the program, and those who did not were sent home; none of the children converted to Christianity. Throughout the trial, Islamic radicals threatened the defendants, witnesses, and judges with death if the women were acquitted.

6. False Accusations in Egypt Coptic Christian Shafik Saleh Shafik ran a shelter for troubled young women in Egypt. On Oct 20 Shafik was sentenced to one year in jail after a teenager at the shelter lodged unsubstantiated accusations against him. Magda refaat Gayed accused Shafik of beating and raping her, though a physician’s report refuted these charges. The girl had been recovered from an Islamic group to whom she had fled in hopes of converting and marrying a Muslim man. Many of the Christian young women at Shafik’s shelter were brought there after their families recovered them from Muslim groups determined to spread Islam by abducting and converting them. Other girls, like Gayed, are lured into marrying Muslim men with promises of escape from economic deprivation.

7. Pastor Cai Jailed in China On November 8 a judge found house church pastor Cai Zhuohua and three relatives guilty of “illegal business practices” for the printing and distribution of religious publications. Cai’s mother told Reuters that the prosecution has not found a single witness to testify that Cai had earned money from the sale of the books. Cai, who led six Beijing house churches, said the books were printed for free distribution within house church networks. Defense lawyers acknowledged that the literature was printed without permission, but argued that the defendants could not be charged with “economic crimes” since the Bibles were never intended for sale. Pastor Cai was sentenced to 3 years in prison.

8. Legal and Physical Assaults in India On November 28 the Supreme Court of India deferred—for the third time—ruling on whether Dalit Christians (low caste “untouchables”) can be denied job and education rights. Dalits belonging to Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh faiths qualify for a government plan that reserves 26 percent of jobs and educational places for them. Under current laws, Dalits who convert to Christianity or Islam lose their reservation privileges. Christian leaders say India’s 16 million Dalit Christians are extremely frustrated and demoralized by the government’s position.

9. Islamization in Northern Nigeria Christians in Nigeria’s northern states were frequent targets of violence in 2005. A Muslim militant attack on a Christian community in Adamawa state in February killed 36 people and displaced about 3,000 others. In Niger state, where Christians make up half the population, Islamic officials seized Christians’ property, discriminated against them in the public sector, and forced Christian girls to marry Muslims. In Kano state, Christian children were denied admission into public schools, and those that were admitted were forced to study Arabic, Islam, and say Islamic prayers.

10. Gruesome Violence in Indonesia A series of gruesome attacks demonstrated Muslim extremists’ attempts to provoke Christians into religious war. A bombing in May in the Christian market of Tentena left 22 dead and at least 49 injured. In October, 4 teenage girls were assaulted while walked to their Christian high school; three were beheaded, while the fourth escaped and is still recovering from serious injuries. Two more schoolgirls were shot on Nov 8, and on Nov 18 machete-wielding assailants attacked three young people, killing one. Finally, a bomb explosion in a Christian area of Palu on December 31 killed eight people and left 56 others injured.

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The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky (various editions and translations)
Reviewed by David Korb

I recently decided to reread Dostoevsky’s incredible novel, The Idiot. If you have read Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov or Crime and Punishment, you will not be disappointed, and you may even discover that this is your favorite of the three!

Dostoevsky’s intention is to portray a most beautiful man—Prince Myshkin—who is seen as a Christ-figure. In the novel Myshkin is honest and kind, trustworthy and integral. He does not care for wealth or public hubris, but cares only for the truth. He values the simple things in life and avoids the traps of materialism and the lust for power so prevalent in society.

Myshkin is so different, so countercultural that people do not know what to think of him, so they call him an idiot. Dostoevsky writes, “My intention is to portray a truly beautiful soul,” and he throws that beautiful soul into a corrupt society that dubs him an idiot. The overriding question throughout the novel is, Who is really the idiot? Is it Myshkin, or the person consumed with power? Is it the person who cares only for the truth, or him who cares only for his own advancement?

The ending is truly shocking. The conclusion is that in this corrupt world, the only place for a truly “beautiful soul” is a mental ward, because in the end they will appear to be an idiot. This novel is a must read for pastors and missionaries. There are myriad illustrations and applications to our lives today.

The Challenge of the Disciplined Life by Richard Foster
1985, 1989 Harper San Francisco, 272 pages (Reviewed by David Korb)

This book was written twenty years ago but is as relevant today as the day it was written. Foster writes about our obsession with money, sex, and power, and calls us to a higher discipline—a Biblical discipline—in these arenas.

Foster writes, “The crying need today is for people of faith to live faithfully. This is true in all spheres of human existence, but is particularly true with reference to money, sex, and power.” He discusses the dark and light side of money and the vow of simplicity. He discusses sexuality and spirituality and the vow of fidelity. He talks about power as something that can either destroy or create and the vow to service.

I must admit then when I pulled this book off my shelf to read again, I wanted to put it down after the first chapter. I felt like he was just rehashing the same old things. Then I thought about the struggles in my own heart and in the hearts of those with whom I intersect, and I continued reading. I am thankful for the challenge it has again brought to my heart—to embrace the CHALLENGE of the Disciplined Life toward simplicity, fidelity and service.

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