It has been a while since my last post so I thought I would write a couple of thoughts down.

The Good Samaritan. For me this is about me not hating other people and loving them no matter what but what about the other people? I think that sometimes we need to think about the other side as well.


The Samaritan was probably a Roman Soldier. He would have been traveling on his horse through an occupied land and would therefore have been hated by the man he rescued (probably).

Perhaps the moral of this story should come with a proviso: love everyone as you love yourself, even if they hate you

I haven't had the chance to blog for a little while but this week is going to be an amazing week. I will blog more a little bit later ...

The government's attitude towards Christians is very negative. The church cannot operate freely and Christians are restricted in their roles in their families and communities. Many believers experience extreme physical and emotional pressure to renounce their faith. In 2010, 29 Christians were killed and at least 20 were arrested and held without trial. A number of churches were destroyed. In January 2010, 11 Christian families were forced out of their villages into the forest when they refused to recant their faith. Despite high levels of persecution, the church is growing.

Pressure on Uzbek Christians mounted in 2010. The number of raids on churches increased, resulting in more court cases. Fines for illegal religious activities were up to 100 times the minimum monthly wage, and short-term prison sentences (3-15 days) were given out more frequently as a punishment for religious activities. A 27-year-old Baptist was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. Many churches lost their registration and some their buildings. Christians experienced job loss, beatings, social rejection and often expulsion from the family home.

Reading one of the religious message boards today, there is a long discussion about why born-agains as they are called are so miserable.

My issue is why is this term used as a derogatory term? All Christians are born again and you cannot become a follower of Jesus until you have been born again.

What does Born-Again mean? I shall ponder on this and come back to it ...

Take a look at the video on this link, it is hilariously bad. It shows an appalling lack of knowledge about history (bronze age Palestine indeed!), Jewish history (Jesus' command to do no harm wasn't original he points out but Jesus was quoting the law and the prophets!) and Christian practise. It really is amusing and most enlightening. Then there is the oh so clever insistence on using the name Yeshua ben Joseph as if we have never heard that before.


Jesus through the eyes of an atheist

Iraq is home to one of the world's oldest Christian communities and has suffered a great deal in recent years and this is not the place to discuss them. Our Christian brothers and sisters have suffered a great deal and they need to have our prayers and love

Violence against Christians increased in 2010, with large numbers of believers killed and injured. There were a number of attacks on Christians in Mosul in the run-up to March's elections, leading to an exodus of Christians to villages in the Nineveh plains. Attacks on church buildings and Christian institutions increased in the second half of the year. In October 2010, at least 58 Christians were killed and many were injured in a bomb attack on a church in Baghdad.

Christians are standing in Iraq and are dying, please God support them and keep them safe.

Amen