(Update: Compass Direct News has posted a fuller account and analysis of the letter.)
On Sunday, the leader of Algeria's network of Protestant churches was ordered by local authorities (full text after the jump) to "close down throughout the country all the Christian worship places, which are not designated for religious purposes." The order implements a 2006 law restricting non-Muslim worship that has been irregularly enforced yet long given Algerian Protestants (who number between 10,000 and 100,000) great concern.
More than half of the North African nation's then-50 Protestant churches closed in 2008 following a wave of similar orders from local authorities. Other churches remained open in protest.
The 2006 law, Ordinance 06-03, requires that churches register in order to legally operate, yet Protestant leaders have tried for years to have their church applications approved by the government without success. The Algerian government restricts the worship of Muslims also, given fears of radicalism which fueled waves of domestic terrorism in the 1990s.
Full text of the police letter, sent to CT by an Algerian church leader, is after the jump:
The head of the EPA (The Algerian Protestant Church Association) has received the following order from the High Police commissioner in his town:"On May 5th, 2011, a decision has been made according to article number 566/11, to close down throughout the country all the Christian worship places, which are not designated for religious purposes.
I, Mr Ben Salem, the high commissioner of the police in the Bejaia area, have informed Mr. Mustapha Krim, the President of the (EPA) Algerian Protestant Church Association. We have informed him to close down all the worship places around the country once for all, the places which are used now and the places which are under construction.
The decision has been made according to the article 03-06. The authorities will make sure that the order has to be obeyed and applied,otherwise severe consequences and punishments will be applied, according to article 97 and the law number 09-90, registered on 07-04-1999.
The high commissioner of the police authorities,
Mr. Amar Ben Salem
22nd May, 2011"Posted by Jeremy Weber at May 25, 2011 10:01AM
Sarah Pulliam Bailey | May 20, 2011 10:44AMBy now you've heard that Family Radio president Harold Camping has made yet another prediction that a rapture will take place tomorrow and the world will end on October 21.
The idea is making an impact across the globe as the Vietnamese government tried to portray several thousand Hmong followers of Camping followers as orthodox Christians, Compass Direct reports.
Here's a round-up of what some American evangelicals are saying about Camping's predictions:
Ed Stetzer says "Yes ... Jesus is coming back."
I want to live ready in light of the soon return of Jesus, not acting like a nut because someone said he is coming back tomorrow. Honestly, I think that is part of why Jesus says, "no man knows the day or the hour." It's because we don't have to think, "Jesus is coming! Look busy" because we have been living in light of his return.
Lee Grady of Charisma magazine doesn't buy it.
There is urgency in the gospel, for sure, but it is not about a countdown to the rapture. Hundreds of thousands of people die every day without Jesus, whether or not He returns in their generation. This alone should motivate us to avoid foolish distractions and false prophecies so we can get busy with the task of genuine evangelism.
Al Mohler says the church should not arrogantly set dates.
In Hebrews 9:28, we are taught that Christ will come a second time “to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” That is the faithful Christian response to the New Testament teachings about Christ’s coming. The church is not to be arrogantly setting dates, but instead to be eagerly waiting for him. Of that we can be truly certain.
Tim LaHaye says the prediction is bizarre and 100 percent wrong.
You can be sure the rapture will not occur when anyone sets a date because God wants us all to live every day as though Christ could come today. A great motto for daily living is PERHAPS TODAY. For one day it will happen and we don't know when, but we don't want you to be left behind!
Matthew Paul Turner isn't laughing.
I’m not saying that I won’t Tweet a punch line or two. But my jokes won’t be personal attacks on the May 21st believers.
...Some of them will lose their faith and yet be unable to escape it. And some of them will go on like nothing happened and probably end up setting and believing in another “date”.
And there’s nothing funny about that…
@Xianity: APOCALYPSE: On May 21st, one of two things should end ; either the world or Harold Camping's career as a prophet.
Check out CT's previous coverage on Camping and end times predictions, including
Camping Misses End of World (October 24, 1994)
New Dispensation? Camping: 'Leave Church' (May 21, 2002)
Does Anyone Really Know What Time It Is? (July 17, 1995)
Apocalypse Not (Christian History, August 8, 2008)
Posted by Sarah Pulliam Bailey at May 20, 2011 10:44AM | Comments (53)
The 92-year-old evangelist has pneumonia.
Adelle M. Banks, Religion News Service | May 12, 2011 2:47PMBilly Graham's doctor confirmed Thursday that the 92-year-old evangelist has pneumonia, but said he is doing well.
Graham was taken Wednesday to Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C., where he was started on antibiotics.
Dr. Shaw C. Henderson, a pulmonologist, said Graham is being encouraged to restart normal activities, including physical therapy.
Graham spokesman A. Larry Ross said in a statement that the evangelist started feeling better once he arrived at the hospital near his North Carolina home.
"We anticipate his pneumonia to clear with treatment and hope he will be able to soon return home," Ross said. No departure date has been determined.
Graham has been mostly homebound in recent years and has suffered from age-related ailments, including hearing loss and macular degeneration.
He has continued to work on writing projects, including a first-person account on aging.CT Update 4:08 p.m.: Henderson this afternoon said Graham’s temperature remains normal and that his congestion is clearing in response to the antibiotics he is receiving. "Mr. Graham remains in good spirits and continues to make progress during his stay," Mission Hospital Health System's Merrell Gregory told reporters in an e-mail. "He resumed a normal routine today, getting up for all of his meals, and completing a light therapy program." Graham was also visited by pastor Don Wilton, who joins the evangelist for weekly Bible study and prayer.
Posted by Sarah Pulliam Bailey at May 12, 2011 2:47PM | Comments (2)
