“Congress shall make
no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof;” -First Amendment-
The Religious Liberty Ministry serves the church as a
liaison to governments, religious associations, and local community organizations. Their understanding of the law and human
rights will help secure religious freedom to all local congregants. As we continue to minister in the last days,
we recall the words of Christ, “Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted,
and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's
sake.” We know that our stand for Christ
will be tested on account of our religious beliefs.
Although we as
Americans have been blessed with the freedom of religion and the separation of
church and state, our brothers and sisters throughout the world have not that
luxury. On behalf of the world church
and the ecumenical community at large, our religious liberty efforts must
continue to reach the far corners of the globe in order to protect the rights
and privileges of all God’s people.
"India is being
destroyed," says K.P. Yohannan, president and founder of Texas- based
Gospel for Asia. "What we are
seeing is a breakdown of the rule of law, and the Christians are suffering
because of it." Radical Hindu
groups continue to burn and loot churches and attack Christians in Orissa and
Karnataka, India, while new attacks are being reported in Uttar Pradesh and
Kerala. While the attacks continue, the
death toll among believers continues to rise as they struggle to survive in
refugee camps where access to clean water and safe food is severely limited….
read more http://cwnewz.com/content/view/395/2/
Gayle
Williams, 34, was a UK and South African national. She was killed by two men on a motorbike,
witnesses told the BBC. The Taliban are
reported to have said they killed her because she was working for a Christian
organization called Serve Afghanistan….read more http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7679212.stm
We sadly share
the news of a Global Mission pioneer who was killed in Orissa, India last
year. On August 25, 2008 a mob of
fundamentalist extremists surrounded Samuel Nayaka, a veteran Global Mission
pioneer working in Orissa. They demanded
that he renounce Christianity, or else be killed…read more http://www.adventistmission.org/article.php?id=1020
The Religious Liberty Ministry will continue to keep our
church community informed of political and social occurrences that affect our
religious freedoms so we can prepare ourselves and others for these last days’
events.