The Los Angeles Times is reporting that gunmen killed Pakistan’s only Christian cabinet member Wednesday in a hail of bullets outside his house in Islamabad.

“The assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti, the country’s minority affairs minister, underscored the reach of extremism in a Muslim, nuclear-armed country founded on the principles of minority inclusion, as well as the government’s inability to protect its minorities,” the Times reports.

An Islamic Republic, Pakistan is #11 on the Open Doors World Watch List—and this is not the first government assassination in 2011.

In January, Compass Direct reported the murder of Punjab Province Governor Salman Taseer in broad daylight. Taseer was the most vocal supporter for Asia Noreen, the first Christian woman sentenced to death in Pakistan on blasphemy charges. Islamist forces condemned Taseer for supporting Noreen before murdering him.

When Meda Welabu University students set out on a short-term mission trip to Ethiopia, they probably never imagined the evil awaiting them in the Oma village.

One can imagine the excitement of the young missionaries as they started distributing Bibles and sharing the love of Christ with Muslims in the Bale province.

Then it happened.

One of the Oma villagers started arguing with the missionaries. The situation quickly escalated as the man’s anger incited a mob that attacked the students. The Muslim mob was shouting “Allah Akbar,” which means “God is great” as they stoned the Christians and beat them with rods.

The Christian missionaries fled the village, but the angry mob didn’t end its attack. The Muslim persecutors tried to set fire to the car. The arson attempt failed, but 17 Christian college students were wounded in the Feb. 26 assault, according to International Christian Concern (ICC).

“We thank God that no one was killed,” one of the victims, who wanted to remain anonymous, told ICC. “It’s sad that we suffered the attacks despite the Ethiopian laws which say there is freedom of religion and equality in the country.”

Indeed, Ethiopia is supposed to be a Christian nation. The 2007 National Census reports that Christians account for 62.8 percent of Ethiopia’s population while Muslims are still a minority with 33.9 percent of the population. Ethiopia’s constitution guarantees freedom of religion but Christians living in Muslim majority areas of Ethiopia are occasionally attacked by Muslims, ICC reports.

“We are alarmed by the spike in attacks against Christians in Muslim majority areas of Ethiopia,” says ICC’s Regional Manager for Africa, Jonathan Racho. “We urge Ethiopian authorities to investigate this latest attack and prevent similar attacks from occurring in the future.”

ICC is asking concerned Christians to contact Ethiopian officials and politely ask them to bring the perpetrators to justice and guarantee the right of Christians to worship freely in Oma village.

Ethiopian Embassies:

USA (202) 364-1200
Canada 416 482 6637
Germany 493077206
UK 020 78383897/020 7838 3898

At Charisma magazine, we’re celebrating the Year of the Bible. So when news about a Jewish Bible crossed our desk, we wanted to be sure you are among the first to know about it.

For believers dedicated to understanding Jewish thoughts on Scripture, ArtScroll Mesorah Publications just rolled out a new Bible. The “ArtScroll English Tanach” is a Jewish Bible that offers classical rabbinic thought.

The Hebrew term “Tanach” refers to all 24 books of the Jewish Bible. In fact, the term Tanach is formed from the first letter of each Hebrew word for each of the the three major divisions of the Bible: Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim, the five books of Moses, the Prophets, and the Writings. the Ketuvim includes the Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and other books of wisdom.

“This is more than a contemporary English translation of the Hebrew Scripture,” says Meir Zlotowitz, publisher of ArtScroll. “The running commentary on nearly every page provides a  wealth of insights drawn from over 2,000 years of classic rabbinic thought. There are also explanations from the Hebrew language which enrich the English reader’s understanding and appreciation of the intent of the original.” 

The commentary includes clarifications of Bible texts that the publisher deems commonly misunderstood or misapplied. Take “an eye for an eye,” as an example. The ArtScroll English Tanach commentary notes, “The term an eye for an eye means that the responsible party must pay the monetary value for an eye.”

Another example comes from the Sixth Commandment, “You shall not kill.” The ArtScroll’s commentary offers this insight: “Although the  Hebrew lo tirzach would usually be translated as do not murder, we prefer ‘kill’ in this context  because murder, by definition, means ‘with malice aforethought,’ but this prohibition includes manslaughter, as well.  The Sages extend this prohibition to include such moral crimes as publicly embarrassing someone or causing someone to lose his livelihood.”
 
“While many of our publications presume a familiarity with Hebrew, this Bible is for anyone who wants to understand the Jewish Scripture in English, with illumination from
our greatest of Sages and commentators through the ages,” says Nosson Scherman, general editor at ArtScroll. “Our Jewish future is inexorably tied to our rich spiritual heritage.  The Tanach—the Jewish Bible—is the source code for Jewish identity, values, observance, as well as our personal and communal relationship with the Creator.” 

Most believers who have explored a large college campus in the United States have probably noticed the number of campus ministries there as well. From InterVarsity Christian Fellowship to Campus Crusade for Christ, there are several ministries reaching out to the expanding minds of college students.

“We’re all organizations that are focused on evangelism,” says InterVarsity’s Jim Lundgren of 17 college ministries in particular. “We’re all committed to discipleship and to advancing the world mission of the church. But we all have our distinctives in various ways which we feel God is using on campuses.”

As with any conglomerate of ministries, though, a similar purpose with just a few different ways of doing things could easily cause problems–even in the body of Christ. With this in mind, several campus ministries met decades ago to ensure that squabbles did not break out over disagreements.

Six years ago, a group of campus ministry directors began meeting to pray for each other’s ministries, igniting trust and friendship. Last year, leaders from Navigators, Campus Crusade and InterVarsity met to update the agreement that campus leaders had made in the past. The current leaders identified 14 other organizations that work on college campuses and who might want to participate.

As a result, 16 ministries met in Chicago recently to establish “The Chicago Agreement.” The agreement discusses how the groups will support each other and even unite their efforts when possible.

“We don’t want to compete with each other; we want to add to what each other does and, together, serve the Kingdom,” explains Lundgren. At the end of the day, the ministries all desire to see the Kingdom grow and flourish.
Although 16 ministries attended the meeting, 17 signed the agreement. The ministry leaders prayed over the ministries and determined that the agreement would be passed effectively down the line to every member of their ministry. InterVarsity has already received wonderful feedback from staff who said this agreement was welcome and needed.

As the old song goes, “They will know we are Christians by our love.” The New Testament writers talk over and over about unity in the Church. When there is division in the Christian realm, the outside world easily dismisses it as hypocritical. Pray that this agreement would hold these ministries together in unity so that non-Christians might be even more attracted to Christ. Pray that outreach would thus be more effective by peace and friendship between these ministries.

On Friday, Charisma News reported that a Youth With a Mission (YWAM) missionary was murdered in Kenya. At approximately 1 a.m. on Feb. 25, armed robbers broke into a YWAM orphanage on Kenya’s Athi River about 50 kilometers outside of Nairobi.

Now, YWAM is offering additional details on the murder of 36-year-old Ebel Kremer, a Dutch national that was managing the orphanage.

YWAM reports that Kremer’s wife, Lora, was also assaulted in the attack, which took place in their home on the orphanage property. The Kremer’s two children witnessed the attacks, but were spared harm. However, a night watchman was also injured. YWAM reports he is recovering.

Tamara Neely, a spokesperson for YWAM, tells Charisma magazine that there is no reason to believe the attack was motivated by anything other than robbery. Police are investigating the incident as a robbery and have increased security in the area. YWAM has also increased security.

“Our hearts are hurting as we are all in shock and disbelief that Ebel has been taken from us so suddenly, and in such a cruel and heartless manner,” says Karin Kea Sued, the leader of YWAM Athi River center. “We have lost a fellow missionary and friend who beamed with energy and determination serving the One we all know to give perfect peace, comfort and eternal life. Our prayers and sympathy remain with Lora and their families in Holland.”

The Kremers began volunteering with YWAM’s Kenya operations in Feb. 2008.  In addition to the orphanage, the YWAM center in Athi River operates Christian training schools and a pre-school. Ebel was heading a project called the Maanzoni Children’s Village, which was working with Homes for Hope and Healing to open eight village homes for foster families caring for up to 12 children.

Sued says it’s too early to determine how Ebel’s death will impact those plans: “Ebel was overseeing the building of the second of the eight homes. We were waiting for the homes to be completed before accepting more children.”

The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund recently released a disturbing report indicating that an ongoing problem in Haiti is getting worse.

Experts say there’s been a spike in Haiti’s post-quake child trafficking.

Desperate parents, faced with their inability to feed, clothe or educate their children, are selling them for as little as $ to the traffickers who promise a better life for the kids.

But the reality is quite different. Some wind up in prostitution, but UNICEF’s report indicates that the trafficked children are also feeding an illegal adoption market.

Ron Sparks with Baptist Haiti Mission explains, “The tragedy is only magnified because of the earthquake and so many more children being on the street and being vulnerable to predators.”

One way to cut down on the trafficking is to reduce the vulnerable population. That’s done when BHM can “continue providing a support group for the families and the children themselves through our churches, our schools and the whole Baptist Haiti Mission organization.”

A support community means the families are known by name and children can’t disappear without accountability. It also means “that people know they have a place to turn to when they are desperate, and they can get help.”

Sparks notes that at $25 a month, “One of the best things that people can do if they want to help out would be to do a child sponsorship where they can make a difference–not only in the physical well-being of a child, but perhaps in their life as well.”

The parents who have sold their children to traffickers are without hope. BHM is dedicated to countering that  message with the Gospel. “That’s what Baptist Haiti Mission has been doing–spreading that message, and then providing day-to-day help and encouragement and resources to allow people to open their ears to that message.”

What’s more, Sparks says Christ placed a high value on children, citing Matthew 19:14 where Jesus says, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Could they do any less? Sparks says there’s still a long road ahead to recovery. There are a number of ways to respond. “Be praying for the Haitian people that they would be strong and able to resist the attractions of voodooism and the easy solution, which would be to sell their children for a dollar or two to be able to exist.”

The murder of a prominent pastor in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, this week has focused attention on that country’s alarming murder rate and the regular threats that Christian workers there receive.

Pastor Carlos Roberto Marroquín, 41, was shot to death by two assailants as he walked his two Schnauzer dogs in the Colonia Aurora neighborhood near his house on Monday (Feb. 21).  

Initially police said they believed theft of the dogs was the reason for the murder, but that they were investigating other possible motives. Officers said two gunmen in a white car pulled up beside the pastor and tried to snatch the dogs, shooting Marroquín when he resisted, but the city’s chief prosecutor, Marlene Bane, yesterday affirmed that witnesses said the gunmen had demanded Marroquín’s cell phone, not the dogs, according to El Heraldo newspaper.

 Marroquín offered them the dogs, Bane told El Heraldo, but they said they wanted the cell phone – a common crime in Honduras.  

 Whether the high-profile pastor was targeted as a Christian leader for the murder-theft is a matter of conjecture; such killings are common in Honduras for people of all religious beliefs, and although he had received death threats, those too are not unusual for Christian leaders in the country. 

 Marroquín was the founding pastor of the Pentecostal Church of God in San Pedro Sula, the country’s second-largest city. He was also the founder and president of the Christian Legal Fellowship and co-founder of the Latin American Network of Christian Lawyers. President-elect of the Association of Evangelical Pastors in San Pedro Sula, he was a popular presenter on television and radio programs. 

 Marroquín was the second pastor to be murdered in Honduras this year, after the Jan. 30 killing of Raymundo Fuentes, 43, pastor of the New Jerusalem Temple. Fuentes was slain as he was leaving the evening service at his church with his wife. Two days prior the daughter of an evangelical pastor had been killed, though police did not link the two murders.  

 While police are ruling the murder of Marroquín as a robbery, others believe it was a direct attack on the work of the evangelical church.  

 “I cannot believe it was for stealing,” said Pastor Roy Santos. “The authorities have to act. He was a man who gave a message of hope.” 

 Misael Argeñal, a pastor of Harvest Ministry with many years’ experience in San Pedro Sula, told reporters, “This was not a dog theft. There are already six pastors who have died in Honduras in recent months. There must be a project, an escalation … they must investigate to find out who is behind everything.” 

 Another pastor, Oswaldo Canales, president of the Evangelical Fellowship of Honduras, said that Marroquín had received threats.  

 “Every day we do our work, trusting in God and prepared to go with Him,” he said. 

 A missionary with several decades of service in Honduras confirmed that Marroquín had received death threats.  

 “He received threats before his death,” the missionary said. “Most of us…get calls from stolen cell phones threatening death if we don’t deposit money in a Guatemalan account. This kind of blackmail is not unusual.”  

 Canales called for more security measures from authorities, not only for Christian leaders but for all Hondurans. He said that pastors are aware that, due to their evangelistic calling, “we have always been subjected to threats; we have been in the cross-hairs of those who are not in keeping with our thinking.” 

 Another missionary, Roxanne Grego, pointed out that such murders are common. 

 “Every day in this country people are murdered in the same way – an average of 16 people every single day,” Grego said. “It is such a violent country, especially in the big cities of San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa and Choloma. The people are crying out for justice and for peace.” 

 A recent report by Honduran Human Rights Commissioner Ramon Custodio revealed that in the past five years there have been 18,500 homicides in the country.  

 “Life is worth nothing in Honduras,” Custodio recently told La Prensa.  

 Many link the violence to organized crime, drug trafficking and youth gangs. An anonymous caller gave police the names of two suspects in the murder of Marroquín. Saying the two suspects were in the car and attacked him, the caller identified them as belonging to a cell of the infamous Mara Salvatrucha gang. 

 Police have identified the assailants but they have not been arrested yet, according to El Heraldo.  

 “The evangelical church and the country lost a strong leader,” Canales of the Evangelical Fellowship of Honduras said. “Roberto was a good man, kind, and respected. They can kill the body but not the soul, because it goes to God.”  

 Canales added, “We will continue to evangelize, because we have seen many people in gangs restored, and families coming together.”

The FBI on Thursday arrested 49-year-old abortion supporter Theodore Shulman. Shulman is now sitting behind bars without bond at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City.

It seems Shulman has a history of making these types of threats. In fact, Operation Rescue’s Troy Newman and Cheryl Sullenger, as well as blogger Jill Stanek and speaker/activist Bryan Kemper of Stand True, also claim to have received threats from the jailed abortion supporter during the past two years.

“This is a huge relief to us that Ted Shulman is behind bars where he belongs,” says Sullenger. “He often posted threatening comments to our web site and called me on my cell phone too many times to count. He was always brazen in his threats and openly identified himself, telling us not to bother calling the FBI because they would never do anything for us. Thankfully, he was wrong about that, and we hope that, in addition to his New York charges, he will also be charged in Kansas.”

Shulman runs a blog site called “Operation Counterstrike.” Shulman’s own bio: “Right-to-lifism is murder, and ALL right-to-lifers are bloody-handed accessories. Swear it, believe it, proclaim it, and act on it.”

Ironically, Shulman’s blog offers a “Prayer for Safety” that reads: “May the good true Lord protect Professor Robert P. George and Father Frank Pavone, and keep them safe from terror and from assassination, so long as Dr. Leroy Carhart remains safe and un-terrorized, and not one second longer.”

In case you haven’t marks the 400th anniversary of the English language King James Version of the Bible. Charisma magazine is celebrating the year of the Bible, and so are many others.

In fact, is celebrating the historic landmark with a promotional giveaway: a museum quality reproduction of the authentic King James Bible originally published in 1611. Only 1,000 of this limited, numbered edition Bible will be printed by publisher Gracious Christian Living. The retail cost is $1,000.

The giveaway is open to the public, and no purchase is necessary. You can enter to win by visiting and registering an email address on the giveaway page. The deadline is May 15, 2011.

Charisma News has just learned that a Youth with a Mission (YWAM) missionary was murdered in Kenya just hours ago.

At approximately 1 a.m. on Feb. 25, armed robbers broke into a YWAM orphanage on Kenya’s Athi River about 50 kilometers outside of Nairobi.

Ebel and Lora Kremer, the Dutch couple that managed the orphanage, were inside. YWAM reports that Ebel was shot and killed in front of his wife and their two small children. YWAM also reports that a night watchman was injured in the shooting.

“The orphanage shares a property with a YWAM community which is preparing to host a Discipleship Training School graduation this evening and has recently received students for a new DTS. Member care professionals from YWAM Africa’s trauma team and other YWAM leaders are on the scene to provide support and care,” YWAM said in a statement. “Your prayers are requested for the family, staff and students of YWAM Athi River.”