Barnabas Aid January February 2012

1BARNABAS AID JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

THE AID AGENCY FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH www.barnabasfund.org

IN THIS ISSUE

Aliens and strangers: the plight of Christian refugeesEquipping the Church: new series on key Christian teachingsYoung Christians become self-suffi cient in Central Asia

2 BARNABAS AID JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

WELCOME FROM THE DIRECTOR

Cry AloudOn 16 October 2011 an Egyptian

Christian schoolboy was beaten to death by some of his Muslim

classmates, apparently at the instigation of a Muslim teacher at his school in Mallawi, Minya province. Like most Egyptian Christians, Ayman Nabil Labib (17) had a cross tattooed on his wrist. On that day, the teacher had asked him to cover it up, but Ayman instead revealed that he wore another cross around his neck under his shirt. The infuriated teacher is reported to have incited the other boys to attack their fellow student. By the time an ambulance arrived, Ayman was dead.

Egyptian police arrested and charged the two students, but not the teacher or any other member of the school staff. Only three witnesses have come forward to make statements to the police. The parents of the other students are reported to be afraid of what the school might do to their sons if they made statements, as well as being afraid of the families of the two boys who have been arrested.

Barely three weeks earlier, a Pakistani Christian schoolgirl also faced a life-threatening situation, simply because of a spelling mistake. On 22 September Faryal Bhatti (13), a pupil at Sir Syed Girls High School in Havelian, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, was reprimanded and beaten by her teacher because she had misplaced a single dot in a word while answering a question on a poem about Muhammad. Her accidental slip turned the word naat, which refers to praise of Muhammad, into lanaat, which means “curse”. As news of the incident spread, Muslim protestors called for Faryal to be punished for her “blasphemy”. According to Section 295-C of the Pakistan Penal Code, the crime of defi ling the name of Muhammad carries a mandatory death sentence. Faryal was expelled from her school, and she and her family have fl ed the area.

These shocking incidents cause us to rage against the violence and injustice meted out to innocent Christian youngsters. And they are but two examples of what our Christian brothers and sisters have to endure in so many parts of the world.

At the start of a new year, let us resolve to speak out for them. How can we be silent when such injustices are occurring? We must cry aloud for justice.

This new year brings with it both hope and foreboding. We believe in the Lord of history who holds this world in His hands, and thus we can face the new year with confi dence. But also we see a rising tide of persecution, and we wonder what our fellow believers will be called to endure in the coming twelve months.

A year ago, in January 2011, the “Arab Spring” was initiated by the self-immolation of a desperate young man in Tunisia. As events unfolded in the Middle East, I wrote of my concerns that the Arab Spring might become a Christian Autumn in the region, or even a Christian Winter.

Sadly this has proved to be the case. Libya, freed from Gaddafi ’s tyranny, is moving rapidly to become an Islamic state. On 22 October, Mustafa Abdel Jalil, the leader of the Transitional National Council, emphasised the central role Islam will play in the new Libya: “We are an Islamic country. We take the Islamic religion as the core of our new government. The constitution will be based on our Islamic religion.” Jalili’s statement was greeted with approving cries of “Allahu Akbar” (“god is great”). He also said that laws contradicting sharia would be nullifi ed, and specifi ed that polygamy would be legalised.

Tunisia has already voted in an Islamist party, Ennahda, and it seems virtually certain that the Muslim Brotherhood will gain political power in Egypt when elections are held (due soon after the time of writing). The Iranian view of the upheavals in the Middle East, as not an Arab Spring but an “Islamic Awakening”, certainly seems to have been justifi ed.

The rise of Islamism across the Middle East, and indeed the rest of the world, is accelerating. And Christians are caught in its wake.

However, the West seems to have little concern for the plight of Christian minorities. The catastrophe of post-war Iraq and its horrendous


WELCOME FROM THE DIRECTOR

effects on Iraqi Christians may well be replicated in Syria this year. The tragedy of a tiny and beleaguered Christian population in Afghanistan, with their even smaller refugee communities in Islamabad and New Delhi, has gained neither international attention nor any kind of protection by the West or NATO. Worse still, Western countries at this time are unwilling to give asylum to these small groups of Afghan Christians.

Long ago, another innocent and faithful believer made a passionate plea for justice. Job’s words come to us with devastating force, ringing down the centuries. “I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment” (Job 19:7, KJV). This is the experience of so many Christians today who live in conditions where their cries cannot be heard.

But we who live in Western democracies will be heard if we cry out courageously and persistently. So we cannot be silent in the face of injustice against anyone. We must not be silent. For to be silent is to acquiesce in violence, injustice and unrighteousness.

In the 1990s I, together with the late Sheikh Zaki Badawi, the senior Muslim leader

for the UK, stood against the oppression of Bosnian Muslims by the Serbs and also addressed the discrimination and racism of British society directed towards Muslims and ethnic minorities. Now we must cry aloud again, for the needs and rights of our Christian brothers and sisters.

Barnabas Fund was much criticised last year for speaking out on behalf of vulnerable and

marginalised Christian minorities who cannot speak for themselves. But we will not be silenced, whether by fellow Christians, by Islamists or by governments.

John Wycliffe, the 14th century English preacher who

suffered great persecution for his initiative to translate the Bible into English, anticipated that he might die a painful martyr’s death but said, “What! Should I be silent? Never! Let the blow fall; I await its coming.”

We at Barnabas Fund will continue to cry aloud, whatever the cost, remembering Job’s glorious affi rmation of hope in the midst of his suffering: “I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth” (Job 19:25, KJV).

“I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is

no judgment” (Job 19:7, KJV).

Dr Patrick SookhdeoInternational Director

To guard the safety of Christians in hostile environments, names may have been changed or omitted. Thank you for your understanding.

Front cover: Christian women in Kenya receive emergency food aid from Barnabas (Source: Robin Wyatt)

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations are taken from the New International Version®.

Every effort has been made to trace copyright holders and obtain permission for stories and images used in this publication. Barnabas Fund apologises for any errors or omissions and will be grateful for any further information regarding copyright.

© Barnabas Fund 2012

Contents 4 Compassion in ActionFamine relief in East Africa, teaching converts in Burundi

14 Biblical Refl ectionBarnabas: a model for Barnabas Fund

8 NewsdeskChristians threatened and murdered in the Middle East

16 ResourcesThe growth of Islam in the UK; the dangers faced by converts to Christ

PULL-OUT What does the Bible say about itself?

17 In TouchSupporting Barnabas Fund by text or when shopping online

11 SpotlightPersecuted Christians far from home

18 Sponsor a ChildHelp a Christian child learn in a caring, environment

Equipping the Church


how barhow barnabas how barnabashow barnabaaa nnaaaaaaaaaaarnabw babbbw barw bbaw bbww bbbow baw bw asasaaassssCOMPASSIONIN ACTION

£5,965 for Bible school and skills training (US$9,545; €6,950)

£70,115 for school for disabled Christian children (US$112,225; €81,525)

Two brave Pakistani Christians drove a van full of Christian books through remote areas of Pakistan for three months last year, selling the literature along the way.

“Many people were able to buy books which they would not have been able to do if our book-van had not gone to these areas,” their ministry leader wrote to us. Barnabas Fund paid for the books and maintenance of the van for one year. Also with our help Wayne Grudem’s popular Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine is being translated and printed into Urdu.

Egypt: school for disabled “garbage city” children

Motoring Christian books to remote parts of Pakistan

Just as Paul worked as a tentmaker while bringing the Gospel to others, nine recent Bible school graduates in Senegal received a solid nine-month Biblical grounding last year, while at the same time learning a practical skill to support themselves in their ministry. This was all made possible through funding from Barnabas.

Every weekday from 8.00 to 13.00 they immersed themselves in theological training. In the afternoons they each learnt a skill such as farming, baking and breeding livestock.

The nine graduates are now doing a three-month ministry placement in different areas of Senegal. Their mission fi eld is enormous, because the overwhelming majority of people in Senegal are Muslim. Our project partner reports that they are “doing an excellent job”.

A pristine, white building in the middle of a garbage city in Cairo, Egypt, is now almost complete, built with support from Barnabas Fund. It has already started to function as a school for children with learning and physical disabilities.

Twenty-four disabled children have recently started attending the school in the three completed classrooms. More will join them once the other classrooms are fi nished.

The school is tailored to the children’s special needs with separate rooms equipped for IQ testing, speech therapy and physical therapy. One of the eight fl oors will be reserved for vocational training, so that the children can learn trades to support themselves, at least partially, when they are older.

In total Barnabas Fund has now supported the school with £230,115 (US$368,310; €267,640).

Training “tentmakers” in Senegal

A book-van brings Christianliterature to remote areas of Pakistan

Nine Bible school graduatesare now bringing the Gospel tomany regions of Senegal

Play-time during a celebratioonn nat the newly-opened school forfofooror ordisabled Christian children

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A simple gift can transform a desperate situation into one of hope and joy. Thank you for making it possible for us to help persecuted Christians around the world. You are sending them the clear message that their Christian brothers and sisters have remembered them intheir time of need. Please pray as you read.

£1,135 for medical operation (US$1,815; €1,320)

£391,081 for houses for homeless Christians (US$625,829; €455,894)

£10,652 for Christian literature (US$17,048; €12,404)

A young children’s ministry worker in Azerbaijan successfully underwent an urgent operation for removing exceptionally large benign tumours from her womb, thanks to Barnabas. The tumours were so large that he doctors were amazed that she survived the operation.

During her seven days of recovery in the hospital she continually witnessed about Jesus and how she herself left Islam to follow Christ. When she gave copies of the Jesus fi lm and Christian cartoons to patients and nurses, others came to her bedside asking for the fi lms for themselves and their relatives.

By the end of her treatment she had given away 130 Christian DVDs.

Her steadfast faith shines through when she adds,

“When people asked me, ‘What do you do now? You can’t marry or have children,’ I answer them that if God thought it was needed He would save it. If He needs me to marry, He will do this and if He needs me to have children He will do this miracle too!”

A young Christian family from Orissa are so happy with their newly-built home (see photo above), built with a grant from Barnabas of £755 (US$1,195; €885). Their joy is clear to see as they talk with one of our project partners.

This young family has been in desperate straits for years, as have thousands of other Christians from Orissa whose homes were destroyed during anti-Christian riots in 2007 and 2008. “I want to give the best for my children; in the past they often got sick due to poor housing condition,” says the mother.

With the help of Barnabas many Christians in Orissa now have their own home, a place from which to restart their lives.

“I thank God and you for providing us this house,” she concludes.

India: a home of their own

Joyful hospital witness in Azerbaijan

Newly-built house for a Christian family in Orissa

Thanks to surgery a church worker in Azerbaijan can continue to bea blessing to children through her ministry

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‘‘How did you live in this situation? How did you survive?’ I answered that God saved me.”


COMPASSIONIN ACTION

bringing hope,

Burundi: solid, basic teaching for converts from IslamConverts from Islam need clear Christian teaching specially designed to help those from a Muslim background and a safe place to ask all their questions. In Burundi 108 Christians with a Muslim background received a fi ve-day foundational Christian training course through the help of a grant from Barnabas Fund.

Much of what they learned was new to them, especially to 60 who have found the Lord very recently. Our project partner writes that the sharing of testimonies were a “great blessing and inspiration to all of us”. He reports that the atmosphere was very open and that all students

felt free to ask questions and make comments on the teaching.

Barnabas also funded three Christian conferences in Burundi. Hundreds of Christians, many of them recent converts, attended. The leaders used the textbook Unveiled, published by Barnabas Fund, for their teaching on the differences between Christianity and Islam. Participants said afterwards that they were greatly renewed by sharing the Word of God and equipped through the teaching on Islam. They hoped there would be more conferences in the future.

Young Christians become self-suffi cient in Tajikistan“I have always wanted to open a business in the village of providing computer services. We do not have such a business in the village. I heard about the training from a friend in our church and decided to take training. I bought a printer, found a seat and started a business. At the moment, it brings me some income.” Dilafruz, course participant

How do you start your own small business? Scores of young Christians in Tajikistan were eager to learn and fi nd their way out of poverty when the opportunity arose to take a fi ve-day course in their local church.

Through the support of Barnabas Fund nine of these courses took place last year, involving 117 students. The 16- to 35-year-olds learned about the importance of fi nancial planning and how to make a business plan.

Twenty-nine of the 37 who handed in a business plan received a loan from their church. They started small businesses, including selling

watermelons, washing cars, and repairing electrical household appliances. All are doing well and are paying back their loans over time.

Shahzoda is one of those who received a loan. She loved her work as a seamstress but did not have the means to buy her own sewing machine. After completing the course, she could buy the sewing machine for starting her own business.

“I am now taking orders from home. It is very convenient and safe. My business is going very well today.” Shahzoda

Project reference 50-884


£2,671 for small businesses (US$4,188, €3,106)

£7,500 for conferences training converts from Islam (US$12,000, €8,700)

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COMPASSIONIN ACTION

transforming lives

“We are witnessing the manna from heaven.”

Our project partners continue to work around the clock to bring food to hungry Christians in East Africa. More than 82,000 Christians have been helped (at the time of writing) in drought-affected areas of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda, all made possible through generous donations from our supporters.

Often the food arrived just in time. Many times Christians receiving aid told our project partners that they had completely run out of food and were close to desperation. When they then received the bags of food, they cried with joy and relief.

At a huge refugee camp in Kenya the small Christian minority tended to be overlooked when aid from other agencies was handed out. In these situations help from Barnabas Fund can be a lifeline for Christians. We are helping 630

Christian families there. Each family received emergency packs consisting of fi ve 5 kg of rice, 5 kg of beans, 1 kg of sugar, and three litres of cooking oil.

A Muslim truck driver who had been hired by the refugee camp leaders to help our partners transfer the food, was touched to see Christians giving food to their fellow believers.

Getting the food to the locations is often time-consuming and diffi cult. When arriving at a distribution point in Kenya, Christian women greeted the truck with hands raised and singing joyfully while walking alongside the vehicle. There was a time of worship before the food was handed out, enough food to last each Christian family for fi ve months.


£960,087 for famine relief (US$1,537,684, €1,116,402)

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Feeding starving Christians in East Africa

Porridge for the youngest

Children under the age of fi ve are a very vulnerable group when famine strikes. That is why one of our Kenyan partners set up a programme especially for those little ones by providing them daily with a nutrient-rich porridge.

Two women volunteered to make the porridge daily for a group of children registered at a particular church in Kenya. They had planned to feed 100 children daily, but each week more children showed up, forcing up the number to 230 children.

Every morning the meal was scheduled for 10.00. But at 7.00, three hours too early, the children were already pouring in and queuing up with bowls and cups in their hands. Many of them had not had an evening meal the night before.

Our project partner commented that the “need is frightening but we are prepared to tackle it”.


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SYRIA: An infl uential Syrian sheikh has issued an implicit threat to the country’s Christians, saying that all those who oppose the revolution will be “torn apart, chopped up and fed to the dogs”.

Sheikh Adnan al Aroor, who is in exile in Saudi Arabia, has become a key motivating fi gure of the Syrian uprising. In his speeches broadcast on an Islamic satellite channel al-Safa that is widely watched in Syria, al Aroor often urges people to continue demonstrating until President Bashar al-Assad’s regime is brought down.

In one sermon, he explains that Syrians can be divided into three groups. The fi rst comprises people who are for the revolution and against Assad. The second group consists of people who are neither for nor against the revolution and can

therefore expect no privileges from the new regime. The third group opposes the revolution and backs Assad. This group is likely to be seen as including Syrian Christians because they are assumed to be supporting the government, having been well-treated and given a good measure

of religious freedom under President Assad’s regime.

Christians, who comprise around 10% of the population, have mostly stayed away from the protests despite pressure to join the uprising. They are fearful of what may replace the government as Islamists gain increasing infl uence over the demonstrations. A number of Christians have been killed and,

in some cities, such as Homs, believers are afraid to leave their homes. A senior church leader in the area told Barnabas Fund that heavy gunfi re had prevented church leaders and worshippers from attending church and, according to reports, some church buildings have been

burned down, indicating growing anti-Christian hostility. Until last year, Syria had had a long record of peaceful relations between Muslims and Christians.

On 30 October, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad warned of an “earthquake” if the West intervenes in his country, saying that involvement risked turning Syria into “another Afghanistan”.

IRAN: The case of condemned pastor Youcef Nadarkhani has been referred to the country’s Supreme Leader, the ultimate political and religious authority in Iran. Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei will now determine the outcome for Nadarkhani, who has been appealing against his death sentence for apostasy, which was

formally issued in November 2010. The referral is likely further

to delay the issuing of a written verdict, which had been expected within a week of Nadarkhani’s latest court hearing in Rasht at the end of September. At that trial, the father of two was asked on three separate occasions to renounce his faith in

INDONESIA: A suicide bomber disguised as a churchgoer detonated explosives outside a church in Indonesia as worshippers were leaving the Sunday service on 25 September. The blast at the Bethel Injil Sepuluh Church in Keputon, Solo, Central Java damaged parts of the church building and left 28 people injured. The one fatality from the incident is believed to be the bomber. An eyewitness said, “Everyone was screaming. I saw fi ery sparks and, near the entrance, a man dead on the ground...”

Reports suggested that the bombing was a response to clashes between Muslims and Christians in Ambon, one of the Maluku Islands, earlier in September when seven people were killed, scores more injured and homes and vehicles torched. The confl ict in Ambon was sparked by false rumours, circulated by text message to Muslims in the area, that Christians had killed a Muslim motorcycle taxi driver; police said he died after losing control of his vehicle and crashing. The Maluku Islands were the scene of serious

SUICIDE BOMBER TARGETS CHURCH

SUPREME LEADER TO RULE ON PASTOR’S CASE

“...heavy gunfi re had prevented church leaders and worshippers from attending church...”

CHRISTIANS THREATENED IN ANTI-GOVERNMENT UPRISING

CHRISTIAN MARTYRED SOMALIA: The body of a Christian man killed by Islamic militants was found in the Bakool region of south-western Somalia on 2 September. Juma Nuradin Kamil was killed by the terrorist group al-Shabaab and his severed head put on his chest.

Al-Shabaab, a terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda that controls most of southern Somalia, wages war against “enemies of Islam”. The group imposes an extremely strict version of sharia, and in all versions of sharia law, death is the penalty prescribed for adult male apostates from Islam. Somalia is almost 100% Muslim, and the small number of Christians, all converts from Islam, are extremely vulnerable. Many Somali Christians have been martyred by Islamic militants in recent years.

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order to secure an annulment of the charge of apostasy and lifting of the death sentence, but he refused each time.

His lawyer, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, said that it was unusual for a judicial case to be forwarded to the Supreme Leader and that he hoped the death sentence would

be overturned in keeping with Iran’s international agreements.

The Iranian authorities appear to be trying various tactics, perhaps in response to sustained international pressure to overturn the death sentence and release Nadarkhani. In an apparent attempt to justify the penalty, fabricated charges were

levelled at him on 30 September by the deputy governor of Gilan province, where the trial took place; he said that the pastor was a rapist, an extortionist and a Zionist and was guilty of “security-related crimes”, adding, “No one is executed in Iran for their choice of religion.”

violence between 1999 and 2002 by Islamic extremists against Christians, including in some areas a full-scale campaign of ethnic cleansing. In Central Sulawesi and the Maluku Islands hundreds of churches and thousands of homes were destroyed; according to some estimates 30,000 Christians were killed and about half a million driven out.

Islamist groups intent on eliminating Christianity from Indonesia and bringing the whole country under the rule of sharia law have been waging an aggressive and often violent campaign against Christians over recent years. Churches frequently come under attack; more than 50 churches have been shut

down or demolished by the authorities in Indonesia since the start of 2010, often following pressure from Islamist groups, according to the Jakarta Christian Communication Forum (FKKJ).

The offi cial reasons given for the closures were that the buildings were being used as places of worship without a licence or without the minimum required number of 60 worshippers. But, the FKKJ asks, “Why is this only applied to the Christian churches and not other places of worship?” In most cases, measures were taken following

protests from radical Muslim groups.One recent example of

discrimination by the authorities is the treatment of GKI Yasmin Church in Bogor, West Java. The congregation has been holding services on the

street in front of its half-constructed church since its building permit was revoked in 2008. Bogor city chiefs,

spearheaded by the mayor, have refused to comply with a Supreme Court order issued in December 2010 instructing that the church could be reopened. The mayor has said that churches should not be built on a street with an Islamic name; GKI Yasmin is situated on a road named after an Islamic leader from West Java.

“Everyone was screaming. I saw fi ery sparks and, near the entrance,

a man dead on the ground...”

EGYPT: Christians were mown down by military vehicles when they took to the streets in Maspero Square, Cairo, Egypt on Sunday 9 October to protest against the destruction of a church.

The church of St George in the village of Elmarinab in Edfu, Aswan Province had been attacked by a mob of Muslims following a dispute over the building’s renovation in September. The mob demolished the church, set fi re to the church depot where the wood that was to be used for the construction was stored and torched four homes and a shop belonging to Christians.

In protest, thousands of Christians staged a peaceful demonstration, but they came under brutal attack from security forces, Islamists and violent thugs. Video footage of the violence showed military vehicles charging at Christians. The protestors were also

shot at, beaten and dragged through the streets; 25 people were confi rmed dead and hundreds injured.

In a bid to control reporting of the incident, the military forcibly closed at least two independent media outlets, while state television broadcast anti-Christian statements and called

for people to take to the streets to “protect” the army.

Although Muslims were among the aggressors, some were also reportedly present to defend the Christians from the security forces and to protest against the military’s continued hold on power. Calls were

made for the resignation of the military council.

The following week, generals from the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces denied fi ring on Christian protestors and running over them in armoured vehicles. Instead, they blamed the Christians for the violence, accusing them of “savage” attacks on the military. But autopsies and forensic reports refute the military’s version of events; a third of the victims – most of whom were Christians – were killed by being run over, while two-thirds were shot with live ammunition.

Violence against the Christian community is driving thousands of Christians out of the country. A report by the Egyptian Union of Human Rights Organisations (EUHRO) said that 100,000 Christians had emigrated from Egypt since March 2011.

PEACEFUL PROTEST BY CHRISTIANS TURNS DEADLY

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NEWSDESK


GOOD NEWSIRAQ: In a rare piece of good news, Christians in the Autonomous Region of Iraqi Kurdistan have been given two acres of land by the governor of

the regional government in Dohuk to build a multi-purpose centre that will include a church, seminary, medical clinic and school. The Grace

Baptist Cultural Centre will be built in the town of Simele, with the fi rst phase of the facility scheduled to be completed next year.

CHRISTIAN MOTHER KILLED BY MUSLIM ATTACKER AFTER RAPE ATTEMPT

PAKISTAN: A Christian mother of four was murdered by a Muslim colleague in Pakistan after she resisted his attempt to rape her at the factory where they worked.

Zubaida Bibi (35), a cleaner at a garment factory in East Karachi, was attacked by a Muslim co-worker on 12 October. She went into the bathrooms to clean the facilities and he followed

her, locking the door behind them. When he attempted to assault Zubaida sexually, she cried for help, at which point the attacker pulled out a dagger and slit her throat. She died

at the scene. He was arrested at the factory after the management called the police.

Zubaida leaves a husband and four children. Her husband Younas

said, “I want justice... My wife was innocent and noble lady. She was working for our children.”

Christian women are particularly vulnerable to sexual attacks by

infl uential Muslims in Pakistan, and incidents are on the rise. They often go unreported, and if a case does reach the courts, the Muslim culprits often walk free.

“...My wife was innocent and noble lady. She was working for our children.”

IRAQ: Two Christians were found dead in three days in northern Iraq. The body of Emmanuel Hanna Paules (60) was found in Kirkuk on 30 September; it appears that he had

been strangled and shot. Another Christian, Bassam Eshoo (30), was shot dead by a group of unknown assailants in the restaurant where he worked in Mosul, on 2 October.

These deaths came as three kidnapped Christians were released after the payment of a hefty ransom. Pertus Georges (60), Noweya

Yelda (43), Ashor Dawood (61) and their Turkmen companion Junkies Ezzeddine were taken hostage near Kirkuk by unidentifi ed gunmen while on a hunting trip. They were released

on 30 September, having been held captive for just over a week.

The killings and kidnappings followed a spate of attacks on churches in Kirkuk. In August 2011, fi ve churches were targeted with bombs in the space of three weeks; two bombs exploded, damaging the church buildings.

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ATTACKS ON CHRISTIANS CONTINUE

RESTRICTIVE NEW RELIGION LAW GAINS PRESIDENTIAL APPROVAL KAZAKHSTAN: In the November/December 2011 edition of Barnabas Aid, we reported that the government of Kazakhstan had approved a new religion law, taking the country a step closer to introducing new legislation that would severely restrict freedom of religion in the country.

On 13 October this new religion law, which requires all religious groups to re-register with the state under a complex four-tier system, was approved by Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev. Changes were also made to another law to widen the range of violations punishable under the religion law.

Both laws were adopted with what one observer called “unprecedented speed”; sources reported that the laws were being implemented before they had offi cially come in to force on 24 October.

“The attacks on Christians continue and the world remains totally silent. It’s as if we’ve been swallowed up by the night.” A Barnabas contact in Kirkuk

IBARNABAS AID JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

EQUIPPING THE CHURCH

The Bible is the supreme authority in all matters of faith and practice in the lives of Christians. The second letter to Timothy says that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, re-buking, correcting and training in righteousness,

so that all God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (3:16-17, TNIV). A right understanding of what the Bible is can also help us to share our faith more effectively.

In this article we shall look at the Bible’s view of it-self, and at how this relates to our mission among Muslims and others.

The Bible on the Bible

1. The Old Testament’s view of itselfIn the period covered by the Old Testament (OT), God reveals Himself in the history of His relationship with the people of Israel. His nature and character, His purpose and will, are all disclosed in the unfolding events and in His people’s responses to them, recounted especially in the Pentateuch (the fi rst fi ve books of the OT) and the historical books (Joshua to Esther). God also makes Himself known through the experience of His people. The OT wisdom and poetic books (Job to Song of

Songs) record their thoughts on and reactions to His activity in their lives and circumstances.

Some of the OT consists of words attributed directly to God, which He speaks to (and through) His servants. Much of the legal material in Exodus to Deuteronomy is of this kind, and so is much of the prophetic literature (Isaiah to Malachi), though many of these books also contain elements of story. They also include the varied responses of God’s people (and others) to His words.

So the OT contains words spoken by God to His people, words that report events or express experiences in which He makes Himself known, and words that convey the human responses to these divine disclosures. The OT records God’s revelation of Himself and so also reveals Him itself.

2. The New Testament’s view of the OldThe New Testament (NT) writers see the whole OT as having its origin in God. They not only assert the divine source of those passages in which God speaks directly, such as the law of Moses or direct prophecies (e.g. Mark 7:10 or Acts 2:17-21); they also assign the other kinds of writing to His hand. Thus in Matthew 19:5 the words of Genesis 2:24 are ascribed to God, even though in Genesis they are a narrator’s comment and not spoken directly by God.

APPROACHING THE ISSUEChristians believe that the Bible is the Word of God, and that it has authority over the faith and life of Christian people. Within this broad consensus there are different views of what this means and of how the Bible should be read and understood.

Sometimes the debates between supporters of these different views become quite

intense. They are often focused on particular theological terms that are not actually used within the Bible itself. As a result they can generate more heat than light, cause unnecessary divisions, and even obscure the central Biblical truths about the Scriptures.

In this article we try to avoid the use of such terms and focus instead on what the Bible

tells us about itself. This includes not only its specifi c statements on the subject (such as 2 Timothy 3:15-17 and 2 Peter 1:20-21), but also the kind of material that it contains and the ways in which later writers use earlier ones. This approach should appeal to all Christians who want to follow Scripture.

What does the Bible sayabout itself?

In this issue of Barnabas Aid we are beginning a new series of pull-out supplements on some of the key teachings of the Christian faith.

The West now supports a huge range of different religions and philosophies. Christians face the demanding task of keeping on in our faith in the face of numerous alternatives, many of them openly hostile to orthodox Christianity. If we are to rise to the challenge of answering other views, we need a good working knowledge of the Bible and the Christian message. Like someone comparing an authentic painting with a forgery, it is only when we look closely at what is true that we can clearly discern what is not.

These articles are intended to help us not only to understand our faith, but also to share it more effectively, especially with our Muslim neighbours and people of other religions or none. In setting out a Biblical view of these vital issues, we shall show how it differs from some other views and why the differences matter. A robust grasp of the Bible’s teaching should help us to understand some of the disputes between Christians and others and respond to their objections to our faith.

We begin by considering the Bible’s view of itself.

Introduction

II BARNABAS AID JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012


What does the Bible say about itself?

For this reason the NT also treats every part of the OT as having authority over Christian faith and life. But more than this, it presents Jesus and the early Christian community as the fulfi lment of the OT Scriptures. These basic convictions can be il-lustrated from various parts of the NT.

The Gospels and Acts. In all four Gospels the Lord Jesus accepts the OT as the Word of God. He refers repeatedly to its authoritative teach-ing: whether in explaining the purpose of parables (Matthew 13:14-15), declaring God’s purpose for marriage (Mark 10:6-8), foretelling His betrayal (John 13:18-19) or interpreting His death and resurrection (Luke 20:17). He also sees the OT as defi ning the way of life that God requires of His disciples. He makes the bold statement in Matthew 5:18-19 that not even the smallest part of the law will pass away, and that whoever breaks the least of its commands will be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven, and He also mentions some specifi c ways in which the OT shows disciples how to live (e.g. in Matthew 19:18-19 and Mark 12:29-31). His understanding of the OT is carried forward into the early Christian communities in the book of Acts (e.g. 7:49-50; 23:5).

Jesus and the Gospel writers also view the promises and prophecies of the OT as coming true in His life and min-istry, death and resurrection. In fact who Jesus is and why He came are defi ned by the OT: in these writings God has laid down His plan for His people and His world, and this has now reached its fulfi lment in Jesus, whose life follows the pattern revealed in the text. Matthew in particular develops this point, using numerous quotations to relate Jesus’ life and actions to the fulfi lment of Biblical prophecy (e.g. 1:22-23; 4:14-16; 12:17-21; 21:4-5; 27:9-10). And Luke takes over this idea and develops it further in Acts, where not only the coming of Jesus but also the experience of the early churches is seen as fulfi lling the OT (e.g. 4:25-26; 13:47).

Paul’s writings. Paul’s teaching is thoroughly ground-ed in the OT Scriptures. He sees them as “words of God” (Romans 3:2) that embody what God said in former ages to Moses and the prophets (Romans 3:21). He too appeals to the authority of OT teaching: for example, on universal sin-fulness (Romans 3:12-18), about righteousness being based on faith (Galatians 3:11) and on the future defeat of death (1 Corinthians 15:54-55). And he affi rms its continuing role in shaping the lifestyle of God’s people (e.g. Romans 12:20; 2 Corinthians 13:1).

Paul also presents the coming of Christ as the climax to the story of Israel told in the OT (Romans 9:4-5). God has set out His plan in the Scriptures (Romans 1:2), and all His promises have been fulfi lled in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:23-24). Paul relates the work of Christ to OT teach-ing in specifi c ways (e.g. Romans 15:3; Galatians 3:13), and also the experience of the early Chris-tians (e.g. Romans 8:36; 1 Corinthians 2:16).

In 2 Timothy we fi nd one of the most explicit state-ments about the OT in the NT: “the Holy Scriptures … are

able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that all

God’s people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:15-17, TNIV). Every part of the OT has its source

in God, and God has made it useful and suffi cient for its di-vinely intended purpose, that is, to guide people to salvation and the way of life that goes with it. For this purpose it is all fully reliable: its history, its theology, its ethical teaching and everything else.

The rest of the NT. The other NT books also affi rm the authority of the OT Scriptures and their fulfi lment in Christ and the Christian community. The letter to the Hebrews is the clearest witness on these matters. It is largely an exposition of various OT texts (e.g. Psalm 95:7-11 in Hebrews 3:7-11; Jer-emiah 31:31-34 in Hebrews 8:8-12). The author ascribes some texts explicitly to God (e.g. in 1:5-8, 4:3-7), even though not all of them are direct divine speech in the OT, and he regards OT themes and concepts (notably priesthood and sacrifi ce) as standard for Christian faith and life (4:14-16; 10:19-25). One purpose of his discussion is to show that these things have been fulfi lled in God’s new covenant in Christ (8:1-13).

The other most explicit NT statement about the OT declares: “no prophecy of scripture is a matter of one’s own interpretation, because no prophecy ever came by human will, but men and women moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God” (2 Peter 1:20-21, NRSV). The prophecies of the OT were in effect spoken by the Spirit; the prophets were so driven by the Spirit that what they said came from God.

3. New Testament interpretation of the OldSo the NT writers accept the OT’s view of itself as revealed by God. They treat it as having authority over the churches, and they see it as being fulfi lled in Christ and His people. But they also believe that God has revealed Himself supremely and fi nally in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and that this new and greater revelation is being further worked out by the Holy Spirit in the early churches.

Thus in the opening verses of his Gospel, John says the grace and truth that came through Jesus Christ are an advance on the grace that was given in the law of Moses (John 1:16-17). Because Jesus is God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, He is uniquely able to disclose God to the world (John 1:18). Later John goes on to say that the role of the Spirit is both to remind Jesus’ disciples of what He has said and to ex-plain its signifi cance; the Spirit confi rms and interprets God’s revelation of Himself in Jesus (14:26; 16:12-15).

So the NT writ-ers do not read the OT text just as it might have been read before

Christ came; they believe that it must now be interpreted in light of His coming. For them it is a set of writings that point forward to Him and explain His signifi cance; it cannot be properly understood in isolation from Him. This means that

“For us the supreme sanction of the Old Testament is that which it derived from Christ Himself… What was indispensable to

the Redeemer must always be indispensable to the redeemed.” Professor G.A. Smith

“The old is in the new revealed, the new is in the old concealed.” Augustine of Hippo, altered

IIIBARNABAS AID JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012



although the OT is still authoritative for God’s people, it must be read in light of God’s fi nal revelation of Himself in Christ and by the Spirit.

For instance, Paul devotes most of his letter to the Gala-tians to arguing that Gentiles who are in Christ do not need to be circumcised, even though this was the most basic command laid on the people of Israel in the OT (2:15 – 5:12). The writer to the Hebrews takes several chapters (7 – 10) to make the case that the OT sacrifi cial system has now been superseded, since Christ has offered a perfect sacrifi ce for sin once and for all. And Jesus Himself, in the Sermon on the Mount, offers new interpretations of a series of OT commands in light of the coming of the Kingdom (Matthew 5:21-48).

Thus whilst the NT writers have the highest respect for the OT, the way they bring this together with their con-victions about Christ and the Spirit allows them to interpret it in new ways.

4. The New Testament view of itselfThere are various indications in the NT that its writers saw their work as having authority for the early churches, and one hint (2 Peter 3:16) that it was being read as Scripture even before all the NT writings had been completed.

Jesus’ words and deeds were basic to the fi rst Christian communities. They had put their faith in Him as Lord and Saviour, and they were committed to receiving His teaching, following His example and obeying His commands. The Gos-pels were regarded as having authority because they brought together traditions about Him that had been accepted, passed on and eventually written down.

All the Gospel writers tie their writings carefully in with the OT, and Luke in particular seems to see his two-volume work (Luke and Acts) as continuing the OT story of God’s mighty acts for the salvation of His people and His world. John’s teaching on the work of the Spirit, mentioned above, suggests he believes that God is enabling him to remember and interpret His revelation of Himself in Jesus.

Some of the NT authors write as apostles sent by Christ (Paul, Peter) or as other senior fi gures with authority over the churches (e.g. James, Jude). According to Paul, the apostles have the leading ministry in the church (1 Corinthians 12:28), and he claims explicitly that at least some of his own state-ments have divine authority (e.g. 1 Corinthians 7:25, 40). In Ephesians 2:20 and 3:5 apostles are said to be part of the foundation of the Church, suggesting that their teaching (and writings) are meant to defi ne it.

The prophets mentioned in Ephesians 3:5 share in this foundational role; their task was probably to inter-pret and apply the apostles’ teaching and the traditions about Jesus. The last book of the NT not only calls itself a “revelation” that God has shown to the author (Rev-elation 1:1), but is also presented as a sacred prophecy (22:18-19) that carries the authority of God and of Christ.

Finally, 2 Peter 3:16 says that Paul’s letters “contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and

unstable people dis-tort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction” (emphasis added). This statement strong-ly indicates that by the time 2 Peter was writ-ten, Paul’s letters had

been given the same status among the churches as OT Scrip-ture, and it is likely that by then the same honour had also been given to other NT books.

So the NT writings present themselves as having au-thority, based on their relation to Christ, and by the close of the NT period at least some of them were regarded as Scripture. The same reasons that led to their acceptance as Scripture would eventually extend that acceptance to the whole NT.

5. SummaryThe Bible’s understanding of itself develops through the course of the story that it tells, but a clear picture emerges at each stage:

● The OT presents itself as a record of God’s disclosure of Himself in the time before the coming of Christ, in the history and experience of Israel and in His direct speaking to them.

● The NT sees the OT as having authority for Christian understanding and behaviour, and presents Jesus and the early churches as the fulfi lment of it.

● The NT writers believe that God has revealed Himself supremely in Christ and the Spirit, and that the OT must therefore be reinterpreted in light of Christ’s coming.

● The NT writings are presented as having authority for the churches, derived from Christ, and even within the NT period some are already being read as Scripture.

The Bible in mission Adherents of non-Christian religions and philosophies hold a variety of different views about the Christian Bible. Some of them contrast it unfavourably with their own sacred writings. For example, the Muslim view of the Bible and its relation to the Quran, the Muslim holy book, are very different from mainstream Christian views.

The Bible’s understanding of itself, as set out above, can help us to grasp some of these issues and respond to Muslim (and other) criticisms of the Bible. We conclude by looking at three of the most important issues.

Inspired by GodMuslims believe that the Quran is the word of the god of Islam in a unique sense. They claim that Muhammad merely received the word and passed it on as an exact copy of an original in heaven. It supposedly bears no mark of Muham-mad’s character, and in Islam it is blasphemous to ascribe it

“The value of these Writings, historical and spiritual, is out of all proportion to their number and length, and their infl uence upon life and history is incalculable. Here is the noontide of the day

which began to dawn in Eden. The Christ of Prophecy in the Old Testament becomes the Christ of the History of the Gospels; the

Christ of Experience in the Epistles; and the Christ of Glory in the Revelation.” W. Graham Scroggie

IV BARNABAS AID JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

UK9 Priory Row, Coventry CV1 5EXTelephone 024 7623 1923Fax 024 7683 4718

From outside the UKTelephone +44 24 7623 1923Fax +44 24 7683 4718Email [email protected]

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BARNABAS FUND HOPE AND AID FOR THE PERSECUTED CHURCH



www.barnabasfund.org

to him in even a secondary sense. To Muslims the attribution of the Biblical writings to their human authors shows that the Bible is inferior to the Quran.

It is true that only some parts of the Bible came by direct prophetic inspiration; that is, in words spoken directly by God, for example to Moses or the OT prophets. The rest consists of human reports about and responses to God’s self-disclosure, and this has clearly been produced through ordinary oral and literary processes. Each book bears distinctive marks of its human author/s; even Mark, Matthew and Luke write very differently, despite describing many of the same events. And even the words ascribed explicitly to God are spoken in dif-ferent ways according to the prophet or writer who receives them: compare, for example, Leviticus with Isaiah.

So the Bible presents itself as a fully human book, but its human character does not undermine its status as divine revelation. We have also seen that it is “inspired by God” or

“God-breathed”; the Spirit of God was at work through all the processes of its composition so that the whole product may be said to come from Him. God worked not by divine dictation that wipes out the distinctiveness of the human authors, but by divine inspiration that works through their various human personalities, agendas and approaches. The Bible is 100% the work and Word of God while also being 100% the work and words of humans.

Scripture cannot be brokenMuslims believe that Jesus and some other Biblical fi gures are prophets, and that the OT and NT are genuine revelations from the god of Islam. But since they also believe that the Quran is fi nal and perfect, they will dismiss any part of the Bible that contradicts it, claiming that the original Biblical manuscripts have been seriously corrupted and changed. For example, ref-erences to Christ’s deity and divine Sonship, and to His death by crucifi xion, confl ict with Quranic teaching and are therefore rejected. Thus in Islam the authority of Christian Scripture is only relative, not absolute; Muslims believe that parts of it can be set aside in light of the later and more authoritative Quran.

It is clear from the above survey of Biblical teaching that this is not the Bible’s view of itself. In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus denounces those who make void the written Word of God (Matthew 15:6), and in John He declares that “the Scrip-ture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). The authority of the OT as defi ned in the NT, and by extension that of the NT itself, does not allow parts of Scripture to be set aside or contradicted.

We have already seen how 2 Timothy 3:15-17 suggests that God has made the Bible what He wants it to be to fulfi l its divinely intended purpose, which is to lead people to salvation and its associated lifestyle. For this purpose the Bible is all an entirely trustworthy statement of God’s self-revelation to humans. This is another reason why it should all be received

as the Word of God.In any case, the Muslim claim that present-day Biblical

manuscripts are badly corrupt lacks historical support. When did the change happen? If Muslims claim that it happened before Muhammad, they contradict the positive statements in the Quran about the Bible. If they claim that it happened after Muhammad, they ignore the many manuscripts of the Bible that predate Muhammad by several hundred years, and that in every important respect support the present Biblical texts.

Fully equippedMuslims also believe that the Quran is the supreme and fi nal revelation of the god of Islam, which fulfi ls and supersedes all earlier ones. Although they revere the Bible, at least in theory, they see the Quran as going well beyond the Bible’s teachings, adding new truth and commands to what their god has already revealed. So they believe that the Quran surpasses all the earlier Scriptures, and Christians who look only to the Bible as God’s Word fail to realise the fullness of divine revelation.

This view does not do justice to the Bible’s testimony about itself and about Christ. We have seen how the NT writ-ers regard Christ as God’s supreme and fi nal revelation to the world. The OT points to Him and is now to be interpreted in the light of His coming, and the NT writings derive their authority from Him.

Second Timothy 3:17 also says that through Scripture God’s people are equipped for every good work. This state-ment refers directly only to the OT, but it can also be applied to the NT by extension. It suggests that the Bible is not only profi table for its God-given purpose, but also suffi cient for that purpose; there is no need for God to disclose any truth additional to what is in the Bible (though He does of course interpret and apply Biblical truth for us through the Spirit).

So the whole Bible is God’s testimony to His ultimate revelation of Himself in Christ, and it is a suffi cient testimony. This means that if the Bible needs to be superseded or added to, as Muslims believe, then so also does Christ – which means in turn that He is not after all God’s supreme and fi nal revela-tion. To diminish the Bible in the way that the Quran does is to diminish Christ Himself.

ConclusionThe Muslim downgrading of the inspiration, authority and adequacy of the Bible is not true to the Bible’s view of itself. Nor are similar attacks on the Bible by other religions and ideologies. Understanding the Biblical teaching on this subject will enable us to uphold the true nature of Scripture against attack and help us to be faithful to its teaching. But even more importantly, it will enable us to maintain the honour of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom Scripture bears witness and from whom it derives its character.

11BARNABAS AID JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012 11BARNABAS AID JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

SPOTLIGHT

Aliens and strangers The plight of Christian refugees

Jesus was a refugeeAfter the Magi had visited the new-born baby Jesus in Bethlehem, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him” (Matthew 2:13). Joseph, Mary and the baby fl ed to Egypt, where they stayed until Herod’s death. Jesus and his family were forced to become refugees to escape a tyrant who wanted to murder him, and who went on to kill all the male children in and around Bethlehem under the age of two.

Today, the fl ight of this young family is re-enacted by millions of people around the world, who risk their lives crossing deserts, jungles and stormy

seas to escape war and violence, oppression or natural disasters. Many of them are Christians, escaping persecution in their homelands. Often they end up in cramped and squalid conditions, perhaps in refugee camps, for months or years on end, hoping against hope for a better future.

Who is a refugee?According to the UN, all citizens are entitled to the protection of their fundamental human rights by their government. When governments are unable or unwilling to provide this protection, individuals may suffer such serious violations of their human rights that they are forced to leave their homes and their communities to fi nd safety elsewhere. The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees considers people to be “refugees” when

they have crossed the border from their home country to seek protection in another country because they fear persecution if they return home.

The refugee “phenomenon”1 is one of global proportions, affecting millions of people and impacting the policies and practices of virtually every government in the world. At the beginning of 2011, the number of refugees for whom the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) is responsible stood at 10.4 million.2

More than half of these are in Asia; a further 20% are in Africa. The fi gure refers to those who are recognised by the UN as refugees, and does not include many others who have been uprooted (e.g. internally displaced people and those who do not have offi cial UN refugee status).

In Afghanistan the few thousand converts from Islam put their safety and even their lives at very great risk to follow Christ. They are extremely vulnerable, both to detention and possible execution by the authorities and to violence or death at the hands of the Taliban. Some fl ee to the relative safety of India, but there they are constantly at risk of arrest and/or return to Afghanistan; at least one who was sent back was later murdered. Western countries are unwilling to accept them.

The plight of these Afghan believers refl ects that of hundreds of thousands of Christians across the world who have become refugees because of persecution and discrimination. In their fl ight from their homelands they are following in the footsteps of their Lord.

Refugee: someone who “is outside his or her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion; and is unable or unwilling to avail himself/herself of the protection of that country, or to return there, for fear of persecution” (Article 1, 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees).

Internally Displaced Person (IDP): Individuals who are forcibly uprooted from their home because of persecution, confl ict, or environmental reasons, but who do not leave their country’s borders. There is no international convention to protect these individuals, leaving them extremely vulnerable. Intervention depends on the will of the internal government and the capacity of aid agencies to assist. There may be as many as 27.5 million IDPs.

Asylum Seeker: The term given to the individual who is applying to be recognised as a refugee and given permission to remain in the country to which s/he has fl ed.


SPOTLIGHT

The 1951 Convention and its subsequent 1967 Protocol are the only international agreements that cover the most important aspects of a refugee’s life. Countries that have signed either of these legal instruments are obliged to protect refugees and treat them according to internationally recognised standards. In April 2011, there were 147 signatories to the 1951 Convention, the 1967 Protocol or both, out of 195 countries in the world.

Why Christians fl ee Christians are persecuted for their faith in many countries, and converts from Islam to Christianity often fi nd themselves particularly targeted. They can experience harassment, social exclusion, violence and even death at the hands of family members, neighbours, employers or from the authorities. In these circumstances, Christians may have little choice except to fl ee in the hope of leaving the persecution behind and fi nding a better life elsewhere. Sometimes it is safe for them to move to another part of their own country, but where it is not, they have to fl ee abroad. There can be other causes too: in Sudan, fi ve million people from the South, mainly Christians, fl ed to the North and to surrounding countries during the civil war (1983-2005).

The countries that have not signed up to the 1951 Convention or the 1967 Protocol (see map, right) are not required to accept refugees; many of these are Muslim-majority countries or notorious for their persecution of Christians.

Suffering far from home When Christians enter a new country as refugees, they sometimes fi nd themselves in worse conditions than those they left behind. Eritrea is regarded as one of the worst persecutors of Christians in the world, and many Eritrean Christians suffer at the hands of the brutal regime. Viewed as a threat to national unity because they give their ultimate allegiance to God and not to the state, they may be tortured for their faith and imprisoned in horrendous conditions.

Every month hundreds of Eritrean Christians leave their homeland to escape this persecution and make the arduous 900-mile journey across the Sinai desert in Egypt, hoping to fi nd safety and freedom in Israel. Some die along the way;

others are shot dead as they attempt to cross the Egypt-Israel border; others are taken hostage for ransom by Bedouin Muslim nomads; and those who are caught may be sent home to face the prospect of torture and death.

Some Eritrean Christians claim asylum in Egypt, but often their claim will not be processed and they will end up in prison. There they may be denied medical care and suffer malnutrition as a result of the meagre daily rations. Christians receive more severe treatment than Muslim

United Nations mechanisms for protecting refugees

Since refugees do not enjoy the security provided by a home government, the international community has stepped in to ensure their rights and physical safety.

During World War II, millions of people fl ed their homes to seek safety and refuge in more stable countries. On 28 July 1951 the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees was approved to protect European refugees after the war, but as the number of refugees continued to grow, a Protocol was issued in 1967 removing its geographical and time limitations, thus increasing its scope.

Refugees deserve, as a minimum, the same standards of treatment enjoyed by other foreign nationals in a given country, including the right to housing, the right to work and freedom “to practise their religion and the religious education of their children” (Article 4 of the 1951 Convention). Refugees seeking

protection must not be prevented from entering a country, nor can they be forcibly returned to a country where their lives or freedoms could be threatened (Article 33, 1951 Convention). Under international law, this principle of non-refoulement is binding on all states without exception, regardless of whether they have acceded to the Convention or Protocol.

The Offi ce of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) ensures that refugees are treated in accordance with internationally recognised standards of law. It seeks to ensure that genuine requests for refugee status are granted and that refugees are not forcibly returned to the countries from which they fl ed. It upholds the 1951 Convention and 1967 Protocol, helping refugees to restart their lives through local integration, voluntary return to their homeland or resettlement in third countries.

Parties to only the 1951 Convention Parties to only the 1967 Protocol

Parties to both Non-members

SPOTLIGHT


Barnabas helping Christian refugees In India and elsewhere, Barnabas Fund is giving practical help to converts who have fl ed Afghanistan. India is not party to the 1951 convention and, in many cases, Christians who apply for refugee status there are turned down. Elsewhere Barnabas is engaged in a training initiative to equip local churches to support applicants through the process. In the UK, a number of applications for asylum made by Afghan converts to Christianity have been denied initially. Barnabas has provided material evidence for the likelihood of persecution if converts were to be returned to their country of origin, thus helping the applicants to appeal against the decisions.

Barnabas Fund is also supporting Christian refugees from Eritrea in Egypt, providing basic necessities (medicine, food and clothes) for prisoners and legal costs to secure the release of some of the most vulnerable, such as women with

children or those with health problems. Needy Iraqi Christians, both those displaced within their homeland and those who have fl ed to neighbouring countries, are supported by Barnabas with food, medical aid, schooling and housing. In addition we have helped many Christians displaced within Iraq to support themselves by providing skills training or fruit trees, sheep, chickens, bees and other means to earn a living.

Barnabas Fund has supplied food, medicine and temporary shelter for Christian families from India, Iraq and Burma (Myanmar) who have fl ed their homes because of persecution. We have funded school places for Christian refugee children from Burma, Sudan and Iraq. We have also assisted Iranian and Turkish converts who have had to fl ee.

prisoners because of their faith. In early November 2011, it was reported that more than 100 Eritrean Christians had been repeatedly beaten until they signed “voluntary repatriation requests”.

The Eritrean refugees can suffer rape, sexual harassment, torture, beatings and even slavery. There is also evidence that traffi ckers have developed a lucrative sideline in harvesting organs and body parts for sale. There are currently 500-600 Eritrean prisoners in custody in Egypt and an estimated 100-200 in the hands of traffi ckers.

Seeking refugee statusChristian refugees may be thousands of miles from home, in a country that does not want them. They probably do not speak the local language, and they have no legal papers, so it is diffi cult for them to fi nd homes or employment. Their only hope is to seek refugee status either through the UNHCR or through national systems such as that operated by the UK Border Authority. But this process can be long-winded, complicated and frustrating.

People applying for refugee status have to establish that there is a “reasonable possibility” that the persecution they fear will actually happen if they are returned to their country of origin. Christians seeking refugee status may well meet this criterion but, because they are unable to express the facts clearly and persuasively, their applications are denied.

Case workers and translators may intimidate applicants and introduce prejudice or bias into the process. This can be a particular problem for converts from Islam who are interviewed by Muslims. In one case, a young Christian man seeking refugee status in the UK was asked in an accusatory tone by the case worker at the detention centre, “Why do you want to leave Islam?” There can also be problems with converts being interviewed by non-Christians who try to ascertain whether their conversion is genuine, often with very irrelevant questions. Proper assistance for the applicant and expert advice for the decision-maker are rarely available even when the case has life or death consequences.

Do not oppress an alien; you yourselves know how it feels to be aliens,

because you were aliens in Egypt. (Exodus 23:9).

Insecurity for Iraqi Christians

“If you stay [in Iraq], you die. If you leave, you live. They ask you, ‘Why are you a Christian? Why do you live here? It’s not a Christian country.’ A couple of guys with guns came and tried to kill us. After that moment I can’t live there any longer. It’s a matter of life or death. [In Sweden] I can now live without fear... you feel more human.” These were the words of “Matthew”, a 29-year-old Iraqi doctor who, like many Iraqi Christians, left his homeland and found refuge in Sweden.

But Sweden can no longer cope with the numbers of Iraqi refugees and is beginning to send some of them back. In 2010, Sweden forcibly deported fi ve Iraqi Christians back to Iraq, despite criticism from many organisations, including the UNHCR. The Iraqi delegation at a meeting in Stockholm called on Sweden to stop deporting Iraqi refugees whose applications for asylum were rejected, saying, “We cannot receive Iraqi refugees deported forcibly from Sweden because we cannot protect them and their lives will be at risk if they are returned to Iraq.”

Iraq’s Christians have endured repeated attacks since the US-led invasion in 2003. Hundreds of thousands have been forced to fl ee as a result; the number of Christians in the country has fallen from 1.5 million in 1990 to perhaps as low as 400,000 today.

Christian schools for displaced children in Sudan (Ref. 48-344)

Feeding Iraqi Christian families in neighbouring countries (Ref. 20-383)

Eritrean refugees in Egypt (Ref. 12-954)

1 UNHCR, The 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. Geneva: Department of international Protection, 2001

2 http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c1d.html


BIBLICAL REFLECTIONBIBLICAL REFLECTION

One of our reasons for choosing the name is that the idea of Barnabas Fund was conceived at a conference held in Cyprus, and according to Acts

4:36 Barnabas was a native of that island. But the story of this enterprising and courageous fi gure has also been an inspiration and guide for our work from the beginning.

The son of encouragement Most of what the Bible has to say about Barnabas is found in the Acts of the Apostles. Luke tells us that originally he was called Joseph, and that Barnabas was a name given to him by the apostles (Acts 4:36). It is sometimes translated “son of consolation” (like its nearest Old Testament equivalent, Nehemiah, which means “one who brings comfort”), but a more common rendering is “son of encouragement / exhortation”. The Semitic name could also be understood as “son of prophecy”, which may suggest that Barnabas’ ministry of exhortation refl ects the Old Testament prophetic pattern.

At Barnabas Fund we are committed not only to comforting Christians who suffer because of their faith, but also to strengthening their ability and resolve to persevere in the face of their trials. Like Barnabas, we seek to “exhort them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts” (Acts 11:23). We aim to exercise this ministry prophetically, discerning and sharing the word of the Lord

with them and encouraging them to act upon it faithfully.

Generous givingBarnabas fi rst appears in Acts selling a fi eld that belongs to him and donating the proceeds to the Jerusalem church (Acts 4:36). In giving his resources to meet the needs of other Christians he is an example of the sharing and generosity that marks the fi rst Christian community and that demonstrates the power and grace of God at work among them.

Barnabas Fund provides a channel for other generous Christians to share their resources with their needy brothers and sisters. The remarkable and moving response of our supporters to the plight of persecuted believers is a powerful testimony to the transforming love of God within the worldwide Church, as those who have more give sacrifi cially to help those who have less.

Convert careAfter the former persecutor Saul is converted, he tries to join the church in Jerusalem, but the disciples are afraid of him. So Barnabas brings him to the apostles and describes what happened to him on the road to Damascus and his bold preaching there. By taking the risk of supporting and caring for a new convert, he overcomes the believers’ suspicions, and Saul is included in their fellowship and ministry (Acts 9:26-31).

Converts to Christianity today, especially those from a Muslim background, face many pressures, and sadly this sometimes includes the suspicion and even the hostility of their fellow-Christians. Barnabas Fund makes support and care for converts a cornerstone of our work, taking the risk of standing up for them when others prefer to look away. In this way we help to integrate them into the body of Christ and enable them to fl ourish in His service.

International ministryWhen the church in Jerusalem hears about the thriving Christian mission among Gentiles in Antioch, they send Barnabas to visit them. Because he is a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, he rejoices to see God’s grace at work and encourages the new Christians; many more are added to their number. He then goes to fetch Saul from Tarsus, and they share in ministry in Antioch (Acts 11:19-26). Antioch was a multi-racial and multi-cultural city, and the list of the church’s prophets and teachers in Acts 13:1 suggests that it was an international community without distinction of race or culture.

In all that we do, Barnabas Fund also tries to refl ect the goodness of God through faith in Christ and dependence on the Spirit. We rejoice to see the many powerful signs of God’s grace at work among the persecuted churches and aim to share in their upbuilding and growth. We help to enable

Sometimes people ask why our organisation is called “Barnabas Fund”. They probably know that Barnabas is a character in the New Testament, but they wonder what makes his name so suitable for an agency that brings hope and aid to persecuted Christians.

Barnabas a model for Barnabas Fund

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BIBLICAL REFLECTION

their ministry and partner with them in it. And we provide support across national boundaries and without distinction.

Holistic missionBarnabas is sent by the church in Antioch to Jerusalem to bring famine relief to the believers there (Acts 11:30; 12:25). He is then sent with Saul (Paul) on mission to Cyprus and various cities in Asia Minor (modern Turkey), where they proclaim the Gospel and establish churches (Acts 13 – 14). Thus his ministry is both practical and spiritual, and it may also have been self-supporting (1 Corinthians 9:6).

Like our namesake, Barnabas Fund seeks to meet both practical and spiritual needs. For example, we provide food for hungry Christians, supporting hundreds of needy families in countries where they are living in poverty as a result of natural disaster or persecution; and we support evangelists and church planters by contributing to their upkeep and supplying them with training and resources. Where congregations are very poor we also sponsor small business projects to encourage church leaders to be self-suffi cient.

Defending truthSome Jewish Christians in the early Church believed that Gentile believers in Christ should become Jews by being circumcised. Barnabas joins Paul in disputing this view, which threatens both the integrity of the Gospel and the unity of the Church. They are sent from Antioch to discuss the issue with the leaders in Jerusalem, where they testify to God’s work through them among

the Gentiles. Later they help to deliver to the churches the decision of the council that Gentile Christians need not be circumcised (Acts 15:1-35; cp. Galatians 2:1-10).

Barnabas Fund too is called to stand for the truth. We provide a voice for persecuted Christians, telling the unknown story of their plight to those with power to make a difference. We tackle persecution at its root by explaining those aspects of non-Christian religions and ideologies that result in the oppression of Christian minorities. And we witness to the love of God in Christ and seek to build His Kingdom.

Supporting the weakAfter a further period of teaching and evangelism in Antioch, Barnabas is invited by Paul to join him in re-visiting the churches that they founded. But Barnabas wants to take John Mark (who may have been his cousin; Colossians 4:10), despite Mark having deserted them on their fi rst mission. When Paul objects, their disagreement becomes so intense that they separate, and Barnabas goes to Cyprus with Mark while Paul leaves for Asia Minor (Acts 15:36-41).

Barnabas Fund’s determination to stand up for the weak – for Christians who suffer discrimination and harassment for their faith – sometimes provokes a negative response, even from other Christians. But we are ready to accept disagreement and trouble in order to affi rm our

solidarity with our suffering brothers and sisters, and we are privileged to work as partners with them and encourage their own ministry. Barnabas was prepared to risk even his life for the Name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 15:26), and his example calls us to lay down our lives in the service of His people.

A great exampleBarnabas is not a perfect or complete example for Barnabas Fund. Paul says that he was led astray by the hypocrisy of Jewish Christians in Antioch who separated themselves from table-fellowship with Gentile believers (Galatians 2:11-14), which suggests there may have been more to the breach between them than a disagreement over Mark. And not every aspect of our work is modelled, consciously or otherwise, on the Biblical story of Barnabas.

Yet Barnabas is still a great example for us. His godly and righteous character issues in a lifestyle and ministry that meet the needs of Christ’s body in numerous ways, and that support and build it up in the face of great pressure. His humility and openness before God and His calling are essential to the fruitful Christian ministry that we seek to exercise.

In following the pattern of Barnabas we also begin to fulfi l our Lord’s call for us to love one another as He has loved us, and also to address the plight of our Christian family who suffer most for His sake. Barnabas may have his faults and limitations, but in Christ we have the perfect and complete example for our work.

(Other passages relating to Barnabas are 1 Corinthians 9:6; Galatians 2:1-14; Colossians 4:10; and the rest of Acts 13 – 15. If you have time, read these too and refl ect on what the example of Barnabas could mean for you.)

1. Barnabas’ name means “son of encouragement / exhortation”. What do you think it means to encourage or exhort other Christians? How have people encouraged or exhorted you?

2. The name can also be understood to mean “son of prophecy”. What does it mean to be prophetic? How can we be prophetic in standing up for justice on behalf of Christians who suffer for their faith?

3. Read Acts 4:32-37. What did Barnabas do, and how did it refl ect what the church was doing? In what ways can we give generously to other Christians?

4. Read Acts 9:26-31. Why was Barnabas taking a risk here? How do the new Christians we know need to be cared for, and how can we provide that care?

5. Read Acts 11:19-26. What does Barnabas do in Antioch and what is the result? How can we reach across racial and cultural barriers with the Gospel or within the Church?

6. Read Acts 11:30 and 14:1-3? In what kind of ministries was Barnabas engaged? How can we model our churches’ ministries on this pattern?

7. Read Acts 15:1-12, 22-29. How does Barnabas stand for the truth in this episode? Where do we need to stand for the truth of Christ, and how should we do it?

8. Read Acts 15:36-41. What is Barnabas’ attitude to Mark as shown in this passage? Who in our own church needs this kind of affi rmation, and what can we do to help them?

QUESTIONS FOR PERSONAL STUDY OR GROUP DISCUSSION

Freedom to Believe: Challenging Islam’s Apostasy LawPatrick Sookhdeo

On page 8-9 of this issue we report on the case of Youcef Nadarkhani, an Iranian pastor who is on death row for

allegedly leaving Islam. But it is not only in Iran that Muslims who become Christians, or who leave Islam for other reasons, face serious penalties.

All schools of sharia law specify the death sentence for adult male Muslims who choose to leave their faith. Most require the same punishment for women. The law creates powerful hostility towards apostates, so even where the death penalty is not written into the legal system, converts from Islam may still be attacked, beaten or murdered by zealous Muslims.

But change is possible. This book has been written to raise awareness about Islam’s apostasy law and to promote the case for its abolition. Patrick Sookhdeo

sets out the Muslim teaching on apostasy from the Islamic sources; he looks at the debate about the apostasy law among Muslim scholars; and he describes how converts from Islam are treated in the world today.

Some brave Muslim leaders are arguing that the apostasy law should be abandoned, so that people can leave Islam without fear of reprisals. Their voice will be strengthened by non-Muslims also calling for repeal of the law. Read this important book and join the movement for change!

Isaac Publishing, paperback, 176 pp, offer price £8.99 including postage (RRP £8.99)

Faith, Power and Territory: A Handbook of British Islam Patrick Sookhdeo

Islam is more than just a religion. It makes a claim on the whole of life: personal, social, cultural, economic and political. Radical Muslims are working hard to transform the societies where they live, not only in Muslim-majority countries but also in the West – including Britain – to bring the whole world under the rule of Islam.

This book is an easy-to-use guide to Islam in Britain today. It covers the

main Islamic beliefs and practices, fi gures and institutions, including the radical Islamist groups with their openly political agendas. The author shows how the development of British Islam is leading to the subtle but progressive Islamisation of national life, and he asks searching questions about how the authorities may be furthering this process.

This invaluable study will give Christian readers a compelling overview of the current UK scene, and its insights are readily transferred to other countries with sizeable Muslim minorities.

Isaac Publishing, paperback, 370 pp, offer price £10.49 including postage (RRP £10.99)

This month we feature two books from Dr Patrick Sookhdeo, on the dangers faced by converts from Islam and the challenge of Islam to British society.

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To order these books, please visit www.barnabasfund.org/shop. Alternatively, please contact your nearest Barnabas Fund offi ce (addresses on back cover). Cheques for the UK should be made payable to “Barnabas Fund”.

Many of us put off making our will. Perhaps we expect to do it later in life, or we would just rather not think about it at all. But the result is that in the UK most people die without a legally valid will, and so they have no say in what then happens to their money and possessions.

We have prepared this booklet to explain how important it is for Christians to make a will and to offer advice on how to go about it. It offers a Christian perspective on the task and provides a guide on “How to make your will in 5 easy steps”, with further advice on changing your will and leaving a legacy to Barnabas Fund.

Available free from your nearest offi ce or as a download from www.barnabasfund.org/resources.

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A Christian guide to making and changing your will


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IN TOUCH


Did you know you can help your persecuted Christian

brothers and sisters wherever you are with our quick

and easy SMS text donation service?

To donate £3 to the Barnabas General Fund, simply text the word

“Barnabas” to 70007*. You will receive one confi rmation message,

charged at £3. Barnabas Fund will receive a minimum of £2.95 of

each gift.

Your donation is anonymous unless you Gift Aid it by accessing the link

that will be sent to your phone (your standard data charges may apply).

This is a great way to support Barnabas Fund, and your gift may be

used in a variety of different ways. For example, a £3 donation using this

method can provide anti-malarial protection for an impoverished Christian

family in Niger; it can print 20 copies of He Died for You, an evangelistic

book in the Uzbek language for believers in Russia; or it can supply two

week’s yeast for a Christian-run bakery in North Korea. For help please contact the Pewsey offi ce (address on back cover) or

visit www.barnabasfund.org/terms.

*Messages charged at standard network rate. The amount will be added

to your next bill or deducted immediately if you use a pay-as-you-go phone.

Text Donations for Barnabas Fund

At Barnabas Fund, we are constantly trying to freshen up our printed material. As you have been reading through this edition of Barnabas Aid, you will probably have noticed that we’ve made some signifi cant changes to the design, layout and content of the magazine and prayer diary. We hope that you like our new design; please contact us if you would like to comment on the changes.

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We are very grateful to Mr John Burgess from Esher Green Baptist Church,

Surrey, who raised £120 for Barnabas Fund at his church weekend away.

John offered to paint a series of half-hour watercolour portraits of some of

his church friends during the free Saturday afternoon, and the time was

spent in a concentrated fl urry of posing and painting. John says,

“There were one or two disasters and some moments of high stress, but overall I was quite pleased with the results and we had a lot of fun doing it.”

John took his inspiration from a holiday in the south of France, where in the

evenings many stalls were laid out along the promenade and at one of these

a lady was drawing portrait sketches.

Painted portraits raise pounds

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If you have a Smartphone with a feed reader, why not subscribe to our daily prayer feed? By visiting www.barnabasfund.org and signing up to our RSS feed, you can receive news updates and prayer points from Barnabas Fund direct to your phone.

Praying on the move

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EveryclickBarnabas Fund is registered with Everyclick.com, an award winning fundraising company for UK charities. Everyclick has a range of products that are designed to generate extra income for the charity at no cost to supporters.

• Search the web with Everyclick and donate money to Barnabas each time you search online, at no cost to you. Simply go to www.everyclick.com and download the Everyclick searchbar.• Shop with Give as you Live: thousands of stores will donate money to Barnabas Fund through Everyclick when you shop online. Sign up, download and install Give as you Live, select Barnabas Fund and then start shopping at your favourite online shops. Support Barnabas Fund for free without changing your online shopping habits.

• Create a fundraising page and collect sponsorship online. Everyclick processes and manages all donations and transactions, including Gift Aid, and passes the amount (less a small fee) onto Barnabas Fund. The Times newspaper says, “Every time you search the internet, the search engine you use rakes in advertising revenue. Use Everyclick and half that cash could go to the UK charity of your choice.”Why not join the thousands of fundraisers who are raising money for Barnabas Fund online right now? For more information, visit www.everyclick.com.


I’m a Christian. So my teacher despises me.

A Christian girl in Pakistan accidentally misspelled a word in class. Her teacher said it was a deliberate insult to Muhammad. Faryal was beaten and

expelled from her school, and her family had to flee.

Because he refused to hide his cross, Ayman, an Egyptian Christian teenage boy, was beaten to death by his classmates, incited by their teacher.

Christian children in eleven hostile countries are getting an education in a Christian context, thanks to Barnabas Fund.

Our School-Place Sponsorship Programme enables over 6,500 persecuted Christian children to study in a safe and loving environment where they are encouraged in their faith.

You can help a Christian child learn in a caring, Christian environment.The amount needed to support a child at school varies from place to place. A typical fi gure is £18 per child per month.

These are the extreme cases. But many other Christian children around the world face hostility and injustice at school. Because they are part of a despised minority, they are sometimes even deliberately failed in exams. Their parents are too marginalised and poor to send their children to Christian schools.

A Christian guide to making and changing your willHere is my gift of ______________________

Please use my gift for

Wherever the need is greatest (General Fund)

Other ___________________________________________*

I enclose a cheque/voucher payable to “Barnabas Fund”.

Please debit my

Visa Mastercard American Express

Maestro CAF card /other charity card

Number

Maestro issue number or issue date /

Expiry date / Signature ____________________________

I do not require an acknowledgement of this gift.

I would like to give regularly through my bank. Please send me the appropriate form. (UK supporters may use the Direct Debit form below.)

Alternative Gift Card To make an alternative gift for a loved one, please contact your national Barnabas offi ce.

DIRECT DEBIT for UK supporters who would like to give regularly I/We want to bring hope and aid to the persecuted Church by a regular gift, to be used

where it is most needed (General Fund) or for ________________________________*(give reference number of project to be supported)

Gift Aid Declaration (Applicable to UK tax payers only)I authorise Barnabas Fund, registered charity no. 1092935, to treat all donations I have made since 6 April 2007 and all subsequent donations as Gift Aid donations until I notify you otherwise.

Signature ___________________________________ Date ____________If you have previously signed a Gift Aid Declaration for Barnabas Fund, you do not need to sign again. To qualify for Gift Aid, what you pay in income tax or capital gains tax must at least equal the amount of tax reclaimed on donations to registered charities in the tax year. Please inform us if you change your name or address or stop paying tax.

Name (Mr,Mrs,Miss,Ms,Rev,Dr)

Address

Postcode Telephone

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Please return this form to Barnabas Fund at your national offi ce or to the UK offi ce. Addresses are on the back cover. Barnabas Fund will not give your address or email to anyone else. Phone 0800 587 4006 or visit our website at www.barnabasfund.org to make a credit card donation. From outside UK phone +44 1672 565031.Registered Charity number 1092935 Company registered in England number 4029536*If the project chosen is suffi ciently funded, we reserve the right to use designated gifts either for another project of a similar type or for another project in the same country.Supporters in Germany: please turn to back cover for how to send gifts to Barnabas Fund. Mag 01/12 Mag 01/12

Please send the following resources (indicate quantity required):

Name (Mr,Mrs,Miss,Ms,Rev,Dr)

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I would like to give a regular gift of £_______________________________

(amount in words) _____________________________________________

Starting on 1st / 11th / 21st _________________ and then every month/quarter/year (delete as applicable) until further notice.

This Direct Debit is a new one / in addition to / replaces an earlier Standing Order / Direct Debit in favour of Barnabas Fund. (delete as applicable).

THE DIRECT DEBIT GUARANTEEThis Guarantee is offered by all Banks and Building Societies that accept instructions to pay Direct Debits. If there are any changes to the amount, date or frequency of your Direct Debit Barnabas Fund will notify you 14 days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If you request Barnabas Fund to collect a payment, confi rmation of the amount and date will be given to you at the time of the request. If an error is made in the payment of your Direct Debit by Barnabas Fund or your bank or building society, you are guaranteed a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from from your bank or building society. If you receive a refund you are not entitled to, you must pay it back when Barnabas Fund asks you to. You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by simply contacting your bank or building society. Written confi rmation may be required. Please also notify us.

*If the project chosen is suffi ciently funded, we reserve the right to use designated gifts either for another project of a similar type or for another project in the same country.

Instruction to your bank or building society to pay by Direct Debit

Please fi ll in the whole form including offi cial use box using a ball point pen and send it to: Barnabas Fund, 9 Priory Row, Coventry CV1 5EX

Name and full postal address of your bank or building society

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Service User Number 2 5 3 6 4 5Reference (Barnabas Fund to complete)

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Instruction to your bank or building society: Please pay Barnabas Fund Direct Debits from the account detailed in this instruction subject to the safeguards assured to by the Direct Debit Guarantee. I understand that this instruction may remain with Barnabas Fund and, if so, details will be passed electronically to my bank/building society. DD18


Mag 01/12

Yes, I would like to help the persecuted Church

CLICK HERE TO DONATE ONLINECLICK HERE TO DONATE ONLINE


How to Find UsYou may contact Barnabas Fund at the following addresses:

UK9 Priory Row, Coventry CV1 5EXTelephone 024 7623 1923 Fax 024 7683 4718

From outside the UKTelephone +44 24 7623 1923 Fax +44 24 7683 4718Email [email protected] charity number 1092935Company registered in England number 4029536For a list of all trustees, please contact Barnabas Fund UK at the Coventry address above.

AustraliaPostal Suite 107, 236 Hyperdome, Loganholme QLD 4129Telephone (07) 3806 1076 or 1300 365 799 Fax (07) 3806 4076 Email [email protected]

GermanyGerman supporters may send gifts for Barnabas Fund via Hilfe für Brüder who will provide you with a tax-deductible receipt. Please mention that the donation is for “SPC 20 Barnabas Fund”. If you would like your donation to go to a specifi c project of Barnabas Fund, please inform the Barnabas Fund offi ce in Pewsey, UK. Account holder: Hilfe für Brüder e.V. Account number: 415 600 Bank: Evang. Kreditgenossenschaft Stuttgart Bankcode (BLZ): 520 604 10

JerseyLe Jardin, La Rue A Don, Grouville, Jersey, Channel Islands JE3 9GBTelephone 700600 Fax 700601 Email [email protected]

New ZealandPO Box 27 6018, Manukau City, Auckland, 2241 Telephone (09) 280 4385 or 0800 008 805Email offi [email protected]

USA6731 Curran St, McLean, VA 22101Telephone (703) 288-1681 or toll-free 1-866-936-2525 Fax (703) 288-1682 Email [email protected]

International HeadquartersThe Old Rectory, River Street, Pewsey,Wiltshire SN9 5DB, UK Telephone 01672 564938 Fax 01672 565030 From outside UK: Telephone +44 1672 564938Fax +44 1672 565030Email [email protected]

www.barnabasfund.org To donate by credit card, please visit the website or phone 0800 587 4006 (from outside the UK phone +44 1672 565031).

© Barnabas Fund 2012. For permission to reproduce articles from this magazine, please contact the International Headquarters address above. The paper used is produced using wood fi bre at a mill that has been awarded the ISO14001 certifi cate for environmental management.

barnabasaid the magazine of Barnabas FundExecutive Editor Steve Carter Published by Barnabas Fund The Old Rectory, River Street, Pewsey, Wiltshire SN9 5DB, UK Telephone 01672 564938 Fax 01672 565030 From outside UK: Telephone +44 1672 564938 Fax +44 1672 565030Email [email protected]

WE WORK BY:

directing our aid only to Christians, although its benefi ts may not be exclusive to them (“As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:10, emphasis added)

aiming the majority of our aid at Christians living in Muslim environments

channelling money from Christians through Christians to Christians

channelling money through existing structures in the countries where funds are sent (e.g. local churches or Christian organisations)

using the money to fund projects that have been developed by local Christians in their own communities, countries or regions

considering any request, however small

acting as equal partners with the persecuted Church, whose leaders often help shape our overall direction

acting on behalf of the persecuted Church, to be their voice – making their needs known to Christians around the world and the injustice of their persecution known to governments and international bodies

WE SEEK TO:

meet both practical and spiritual needs

encourage, strengthen and enable the existing local Church and Christian communities – so they can maintain their presence and witness rather than setting up our own structures or sending out missionaries

tackle persecution at its root by making known the aspects of the Islamic faith and other ideologies that result in injustice and oppression of non-believers

inform and enable Christians in the West to respond to the growing challenge of Islam to Church, society and mission in their own countries

facilitate global intercession for the persecuted Church by providing comprehensive prayer materials

WE BELIEVE:

we are called to address both religious and secular ideologies that deny full religious liberty to Christian minorities – while continuing to show God’s love to all people

in the clear Biblical teaching that Christians should treat all people of all faiths with love and compassion, even those who seek to persecute them

in the power of prayer to change people’s lives and situations, either through grace to endure or through deliverance from suffering

What helps make Barnabas Fund distinctive from other Christian organisations that deal with persecution?

The Barnabas Fund Distinctive

“Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)

Barnabas Aid January February 2012

Documents

Transcript of Barnabas Aid January February 2012