February 27, 2010
DID JESUS WEAR DESIGNER ROBES?: Poverty, Prosperity and the Gospel
The growth of non-Western Christianity across Africa is largely due to the New Pentecostal Churches. Upwardly-mobile youth are drawn to their dynamic worship styles and pursuit of wealth and success. The prosperity gospel has found fertile soil as it resonates with tribal religion. Prosperity promoters raise serious theological concerns. The gospel of Jesus Christ neither glorifies poverty nor prosperity.
For thousands of believers in Ghana, “Jericho Hour” is the place to be on a Thursday morning. Founded in 1998, this prayer meeting-where “giant solutions await your giant problems”-is hosted by Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams in the Prayer Cathedral on Accra’s Spintex Road. Three thousand make their way there to pray for breakthroughs in business, for international travel, for a suitable spouse, and, when experiencing setbacks, for vengeance on those spiritually responsible.
It is part of a wider movement founded by Duncan-Williams in 1979. His African mentor was the late Benson Idahosa of Nigeria, who conferred upon himself the titles of “Professor” and “Archbishop.” Duncan-Williams’s personal transition from “Pastor” through unauthenticated “Rev. Dr.” to “Bishop” and now “Archbishop” is no less intriguing. (more…)
February 18, 2010
February 18, 2010:
FROM:Evangelical Fellowship of India
New Delhi, India
Orissa police on February 3 arrested 11 Christians based on the complaint lodged by Hindu extremists of ‘assault’ in Badimunda village, Kandhamal, Orissa.
According to our correspondent Rev. Ashish Kumar Parida , about 5 Hindu extremists threatened two believers identified as Sumit Pradhan and Samuel Nayak not to worship Jesus anymore or face dire consequences, further telling them there is no place for church and Christians in the area.
The extremists started beating the Christians when the latter verbalized their rights to worship Jesus. People from both groups started swelling up at the spot but the two Christians managed to flee the scene and relocated for safety measures.
Showing up at the same spot on the next day at about 7:30 p.m., the extremists searched for the two Christians, stoned the house of a Christian identified as Dibyakand Nayak and forcefully entered into his house from the back door. (more…)
February 14, 2010
My little 4 year old Daya’s eyes beamed with beauty and her smile was contagious. She was my little princess and we danced the night away at her father-daughter dance! She was most excited to pick out my tie – She was excited we matched…
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - The foreign doctors who performed the first amputations after the earthquake used hacksaws. They relied on vodka for sterilization, substituted local numbing for general anesthesia, jury-rigged tourniquets from rubber gloves. Working around the clock in improvised operating rooms, they sacrificed limbs and lost patients to injuries that are no longer supposed to be disabling or deadly. read more
February 9, 2010
ORISSA UPDATEFebruary 08, 2010:
The Evangelical Fellowship of India is deeply concerned for the victims of communal violence in Kandhamal, Orissa. Many villages continue to remain tense and sensitive to violence, evident from the recent outburst of protests in both Bhubaneswar and Kandhamal, in the wake of the visits of the delegation of European Union to the region. In one incident in Kandhamal, Orissa, stones where pelted at a Christian house in Badimunda village under the Tikabali Police on February 2, 2010 to protest against the visit of the EU delegation.
Status of Compensation
According to the District administration, of the 4,600 houses damaged during the riots, 1,981 houses had been rebuilt, while 4,435 families had received the first installment of the house building assistance and 2,868 the second installment. Of the total 196 institutions including churches and prayer houses, about 100 had received financial assistance for repairs. (more…)
