Nudge, Nudge, American Believer - You Awake?

Afghan Court Drops Case Against Christian - Yahoo! News

Wow, what a wake up call for the averageAmerican Christian. The press rarely reports much on the persecution of Christians. Though I don't know the circumstances of Mr. Rahman's conversion, this story certainly candles a vast difference in the freedoms that people enjoy world wide.

Kieth Green wrote a song "Asleep in the Light" that cut to the bone of the American Church's sleepy passivity toward their faith. He sings

The world is sleeping in the dark
That the church just can’t fight
’cause it’s asleep in the light
How can you be so dead
When you’ve been so well fed
Jesus rose from the grave
And you, you can’t even get out of bed

If Mr. Rahman could talk to the Christian Church in America, I wonder if he would have any of the same sentiments - Probably not. His whole view of American Christians is probably built around the lives of the missionaries he has encountered who may have even led him to Christ. He probably has no idea how much apathy runs through the Body in America.

I've heard it said that persecution makes the church stronger. Hopefully Christians in our Country will be able to be strengthed 'remotely' by our support of these brothers and sisters worldwide.

Texarkana Gazette: News and Classifieds From Texarkana, Texas/Arkansas

Texarkana Gazette: News and Classifieds From Texarkana, Texas/Arkansas:
"MARY CHATHAM

STAMPS, Ark.—Mary Margaret Duncan Chatham, 89, of Lewisville, Ark., died Monday, Jan. 16, 2006, in a Texarkana hospital.

Mrs. Chatham was born April 13, 1916, in Bono, Ark. She was volunteered with Habitat for Humanity. She was preceded in death by one son, John Lee Chatham.

Survivors include her husband, Frank Chatham of Lewisville; two daughters and one son-in-law, Barbara Chatham of Sherman, Texas, and Betty and Don Landes of Lewisville; one sister, Ruth Powers of Lynn Haven, Fla.; six grandchildren; three great-grandchildren; and a number of other relatives.

Memorial services will be 2 p.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church, Lewisville, with Ray Franklin officiating. Arrangements arer under direction of Smith Funeral Home.

Memorials may be made to First Baptist Church or to a favorite charity."

Is Your Religion AP Approved?

Yahoo News published an Assoc. Press article today, Robertson Links Sharon Stroke, God's Wrath - Yahoo! News. Whats wrong with that you say? The tone of the article is to point out Pat Robertson's views as outrageous, but since when does the AP have the perogative to define a religious stance? Without endorsing Rev. Robertson's comments, I'm concerned more about the main stream secular press setting itself up as a regulator of religious thought.