Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on May 10, 2015
“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumberet not.”[2 Peter 2:1-3]
Following in the footsteps of Bishop T.D. Jakes, Prosperity Gospel preacher Joel Osteen, Pastor of Lakewood Church, the biggest congregation in America, has now joined Oprah Winfrey’s life classes to teach New Age heresy to the masses. Once again, a Christian pastor has come on Winfrey’s series and preached a message that had no mention of the Biblical gospel, forgiveness of sins or Jesus Christ.
As we noted in our Apostasy Alert article on T.D. Jakes, Oprah Winfrey has been one of the biggest promoters of the New Age movement in the world. Through her talk show, television network and multi media empire Winfrey, who claims to be a Christian, has launched books such as The Secret into all-time best sellers. The Secret, a book that teaches the ancient witchcraft technique, The Law of Attraction is not in line remotely with Biblical Christianity. Rather than looking to Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God, The Secret teaches that a person has the power to attract success, wealth, romance and all sorts of earthly benefits through their own words and rituals.
The book popularized “The Law of Attraction”, an occult technique that involves visualizing a certain goal, constantly focusing and doing certain practices as if it has already happened and then “attracting” it by your constant thoughts and focus. Its author, Rhonda Byrne writes: “All good things are your birthright! You are the creator of you, and the law of attraction is your magnificent tool to create whatever you want in you life. Welcome to the magic of life, and the magnificence of You!” (p. 41)
Of course the Bible says of Jesus Christ: “All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:3). Jesus Christ is the Creator. Jesus Christ is God in the flesh. A person is blessed through faith in Christ who is the heir of the Universe. And Jesus teaches that constant focus on material gain should not be a Christian’s life:
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. – Matthew 6:31-33.
“When you focus your thoughts on something you want, and you hold that focus, you are in that moment summoning what you want with the mightiest power in the Universe. The law of attraction doesn’t compute “don’t” or “not” or “no,” or any other words of negation, this is what the law of attraction is receiving.” – The Secret, p. 9.
By the book’s premise, all power comes through the individual. A person can have whatever they want just calling upon “the mightiest power of the Universe.” Anything can be obtained. The Bible does not teach this. In fact it teaches that we cannot obtain anything of true meaning and significance without God:
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. – James 4:8-10.
Notice the difference: the Bible acknowledges that God is the means to eternal satisfaction and true peace. And it also teaches that it is sin that is our main obstacle to God. It takes a desire for forgiveness and faith in God to forgive sin through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that is the message of Christianity.
The Secret reveals its true message later on in the book:
“You are God in a physical body. You are Spirit in the flesh. You are Eternal Life expressing itself as you.” (The Secret, p. 164)
This underscores the message of The Secret and the New Age: that a person can become God. This is of course complete contradictory to the Bible and is following the deception of Satan.
Christian minister spreads the message of an impending tsunami and earthquake in the US which will cause 35 to 40 million deaths. Other witnesses confirm tsunami and earthquake. No date is known but government positions missiles on Puerto Rico to destroy asteroid. Asteroid will hit off of Mona Island (near Puerto Rico) at 0200 with a force that will stop the earth from spinning. The date of impact is unknown. Minister said this is not an end of the world event.
IMPORTANT!!!! SUMMARY OF EFRAIN RODRIGUEZ’S MESSAGE GIVEN IN TEXAS, PRIMARILY ADDRESSED TO THE U.S. AND PRESIDENT OBAMA, BUT CONCERNING THE WHOLE WORLD.
TRANSCRIPT:
Intro
May The Lord keep you. Prophet Efrain Rodriguez has given a message in Texas, primarily addressed to The United States and President Obama, but also concerning the rest of the world. The following is a summary of some of the most important points covered at that presentation. This summary is divided into topics covered and only highlights certain information. For more detailed information, click on the link to the entire message, posted below the video on the Description box.
I. Jehovah
-Jehovah will have absolute control over the earth that night. This is what the 12 point earthquake means-The Presence of Jehovah on earth. The Lord comes with His book to claim many souls before Jehovah, The Father, for His kingdom that night.
-This event is not part of the Great Tribulation. It is the preamble of a chastisement that will give rise to the new church of Christ, which will go to Heaven in The Rapture. It is not part of the events of Judgment seen by John, prophesied in The Book of Revelation, which will, for the most part, occur after the church has left this earth. The Lord led Efrain, on the plane ride back to Puerto Rico, to read The Book of Revelation. He guided him to chapter 3, verses 7-13, where Jesus is telling John about the Philadelphia Church. In this chapter, He tells John about an event that will happen-a test coming to all the inhabitants of Earth. Jesus tells him that He would look after His own people and then come for them.
-Millions of Jehovah’s angels are already on earth right now. They will be around those who serve The Lord. The Heavenly Host is here. Intercede for your loved ones, so that they are also protected. Pray for a Hedge of Protection over them.
The hedge will be around us. No matter what comes towards us-the shock wave, the sea, the earthquake, pestilence-it will not touch us. As long as we are bound to The Lord.
As He did with Elisha, Jehovah will place this Hedge of Protection around His people.The Armies of Heaven will fight for them and protect those who serve The Lord.He will remember you and your family, as He remembered Lot, because Abraham had been faithful. If we are serving Him and are faithful to Him in our hearts, He will honor what we declare.
-The game of playing to be a Christian is over. No more messing around with The Lord.
-Everywhere you go, give testimony, as a Christian, and as a Watchman.
Take advantage of the time that has been given to you. Jehova’s judgment approaches this nation. We are all to blame for this. Run to the feet of The Lord Jesus Christ in order for you to find mercy in the midst of this trial. There is still hope. The Lord promised Abraham that the righteous would not die together with the unrighteous. The same promise applies to us if we bind our souls and lives to Jesus, in our hearts and in our conduct.
II. Worldwide preparations/NASA
-Martial law is ready to be instituted in the United States and in the whole world, to be able to deal with this catastrophe.
-NASA keeps giving dates and trying to justify themselves. The prophetic letters written by Efrain indicate that The Lord would keep NASA in a state of confusion, bewilderment and agitation, since they chose to not consult with The Lord, and chose to not warn the people when they first received Jehova’s warning through Efrain. They even labeled the message as false, in a press conference in Florida. The actual date will be dictated by The Lord of Heaven, when He chooses. All Glory will go to Him, not to predictions of men or NASA.
-The sea will retreat back in all coasts, including California.
III. Puerto Rico
-Another earthquake is coming to PR. Puerto Rico had a 6.4 earthquake in January of this year. No great damage was done, considering the earthquake in Haiti was not much stronger than the earthquake in Puerto Rico.
Another earthquake is coming to Puerto Rico. No major damage will occur, either. God is letting the people know, so that people start looking up to The Heavens, looking and acknowledging The Lord.
-The total death toll in the Caribbean, the United States and South America will be 40 million.
-Obama, the President of the United States sent approximately 40 missiles to PR, to try to break the asteroid in the sky, so that it would fall on land (in Puerto Rico), and not in the sea. On a previous message, Efrain warned Obama to not press those buttons. He told the Army not to do it. He said: “Do not interfere with Jehovah’s plans.”
-They made a mistake at Mona Island, the tiny island to the west of Puerto Rico, next to the place where the asteroid will impact the sea. There is a dangerous and unstable seismic fault there. They were trying to seal the seismic plaque with nuclear devices, supposedly to avoid an earthquake. They planted the device, but lost it down the trench. Now they cannot find it. Nobody can stand in the way of Jehovah’s plans.
-Thousands of foreign troops are stationed in Puerto Rico. There are troops from Russia, China, Germany, France. They have been transported in sealed trucks, during late night hours, to the mountains, supposedy for disaster relief. These foreign troops are meant to protect someone. There are over 15,000 foreign soldiers stationed in Alaska, the United States, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. What for, i ask, unless they are expecting a major disaster? They have stocked up an enormous amount of ammunitions. Many bunkers have been built there.
But The Lord has control over the mountains, and His Judgement will reach everywhere, even inside the bunkers.
-Provisions for PR are ready in Venezuela. The Lord has chosen them as the nation that will first come to Puerto Rico’s aid. They have been stocking provisions for a long time, even though they are experiencing scarcity themselves. The U.S. will be in great need. Aid will not come from them. Venezuela will feed PR just like the poor widow fed Elijah, even though she had almost nothing. The Lord made a miracle and provided food for Elijah, the widow and her son.
-To all those pastors who have been preaching and fooling your flock with The Gospel of Abundance and Prosperity: you will see scarcity like never before.
IV. Israel
-End Time Prophecy is unfolding before our eyes. Israel is ready to build their temple. However, they have to wait. They cannot do anything at the Temple Mount while the muslim mosque -the Dome of the Rock-stands there. They will have to wait for the 12 point earthquake to destroy the mosque.
-Obama wants Israel to give up land. Israel will not yield any land. What Israel conquered belongs to them.
Even if U.S. troops-or anyone else’s-surround Israel, that land is untouchable. These are God’s chosen people, with whom He has an everlasting covenant.
Leave them alone Mr Obama, or you will encounter the same end that Hugo Chavez encountered, after publicly cursing Israel. He died an agonizing death, due to a cancer that ate the depth of his loins, from where he actually declared he cursed Israel.
V. United States
-The U.S. authorities are concealing a lot of information. But others, like the Russians, are warning the people of the U.S. to move away from the coasts.
-When the asteroid hits, we will feel the shock wave as a very strong wind. Ask The Holy Spirit where to move. Requisite: be bound to The Lord. Stay away from sin, so you can hear Him.
-If the U.S. remains silent, over 35 million deaths are expected in the U.S.
-Six events will occur that night:
1-asteroid
2-earthquake
3-shock wave
4-tsunami
5-three days of darkness
6- pestilence
-Besides the obvious coastal flooding, all rivers will overflow due to the sea level rising and the rivers having no outlet into the ocean. Many will die from this.
-Civil War will break out because of scarcity of food and resources. All the preparations concerning troops, ammunition, vehicles and concentration camps will be used to keep control of the population during the tremendous civil unrest that will follow. Martial Law will be implemented as a necessity to keep the people and the resources under control.
-A great epidemic will break out. It will be the worst of the 6 events of Judgment. It will come as a result of the decomposing bodies floating in the waters and left on land unburied. No matter how much medications they have stored, Jehovah will make the Nation come back to His feet, through this chastisement.
-This nation will be raised again, after the chastisement. Worldwide grief will lead many to bend their knees before a Holy God, and they will recognize His Supremacy. They will make a change in their lives because they will know that the return of The Lord is near. New leaders will emerge, together with a new church and a new nation, that will honor the God of Heaven. They will change back the laws for a time, up until The Rapture of God’s people, which will come before The Great Tribulation.
VI. President of the U.S.-Obama
-The President of the U.S. asked Congress for ALL Power. He plans to have absolute control during this Emergency. This means NO elections. He has taken advantage of the imminency of this coming disaster. This totalitarian power is a terrible danger. This message should be sent to all Congressmen: you still have time to revoke this power. Politicians, revoke the power you have given Obama. You have no idea what you will face.
-Obama does not love this nation, or Christ. In his second term, he has shown his true intentions against everything that is Christian. All the laws that he has signed indicate that he plans to persecute the church.
Woe to him who tries to hurt The Lord’s church!
-He has violated all statutes of God. He has made this nation go astray.
-He thinks he will be safe and cozy inside his bunker, while millions of people die above ground.
-The President of the U.S. is the most to blame for this judgment over this nation.
-He excluded The Law of God.
-He signed laws never before signed. He has no respect for The Church of Christ.
-However, The Church of Christ will not be touched. Together with Israel, they are the apple of God’s eye.
He does not chastise or penalize the homosexuals, or the muslims, no matter what they do, yet he takes every action to penalize and extinguish the church of Christ. He takes away freedoms from Christians, while at the same time giving freedoms to those who blaspheme God. Even Putin, the Russian President, rebuked him for this. Woe to you, poor, poor man!
-The judgment over the U.S. will come because the pastors and evangelists remained silent.
Many, if not all, of The great Evangelists and pastors have said nothing. They have gone along with Obama’s changes. Many of them, together with politicians, artists, performers, Hollywood personalities, etc. are in confabulation with Obama, even knowing that he is going against God’s mandates. Even knowing that all these laws are a slap in God’s face. A direct and shameless challenge to The Lord of Heaven. Great amounts of money are being paid to these people.
In New York City, a law is being drafted that would force people who do not accept homosexuals, to be forced out of the city.
Two cities were destroyed in the past because they went against the parameters of conduct established by God. The U.S. is following their example.
-Judges are forced to pass laws allowing things that The Word of God forbids.
Christians cannot talk about Christ in their government work places. Prayer has been taken out of the classrooms. Laws allowing the murder of innocent unborn babies are passed. There is a video that shows how unwanted newborn babies are beheaded after being born.
But rest assured, Jehovah will pass judgement over them. Over this nation. Obama has an appointment with Jehovah. He has offended God in every way. He told God that men can marry men and women can marry women, which goes against God’s commandment in the book of Genesis. Species went into the Ark as male and female. Otherwise, there would be no animals today.
All places in the nation where these aberrations are practiced will be affected.
-This spiritually corrupt President has blasphemed God’s mandates.
He has trampled underfoot all The Postulates of God. The majority of evangelists and pastors have gone along with it, keeping silent. The very few who stand firm in The Lord will be forced to give up their posts because they will be forced to marry men with men, and women with women.
Almost Nobody has complained. The rest have allowed it. They will have their sentence too. Politicians have fooled the nation because there is no longer Presence of The Holy Spirit in the majority of the churches.
-God delivered Israel from Egypt but, before He did, he made justice. He smote and struck Israel’s tormentors with 10 plagues.
The wrath of God is great. Nothing will stop it.
-Obama thinks he will be safe inside his bunker. He thinks no hand can touch him. But Jehovah’s hand will be upon him and his descendants.
The serpent-Satan Himself-will crawl down, all the way to the bunker, and Jehovah will execute judgment upon him.
-The people will kneel before God Jehovah during the pestilence. Current leaders will be replaced. The pestilence will do away with leaders who sold out God’s Supreme Law. A new nation will arise.
-This nation was founded upon postulates that cost Abraham Lincoln his life. He believed that all men are created equal. President Obama believes differently. He believes that Christians are to be disposed of.
This nation has belonged to Jehovah from its foundation. Christ IS this nation’s religion. No matter what laws they pass.
-Here I quote Prophet Efrain Rodriguez’s words: “Listen to what I say, Obama:
Jehovah called me. There is a hedge of protection around the people of Christ, in this land and everywhere. This nation will see with its own eyes what I declare. You have blasphemed the Lord of Heaven, Jehovah, and the Church of the Living God, The church of Christ. And this has consequences.
A 12-Year-old Boy’s Video Question’s Obama’s Patriotism
A 12-year-old middle-school student from Georgia is raising eyebrows as he’s scorching Barack Obama in an epic YouTube speech, accusing the president of having a “downright hatred for this nation.”
C.J. Pearson posted the video Saturday, seeking to “applaud Mayor Rudy Giuliani for his comments about President Barack Obama.”
“Here’s the truth of the matter: I don’t want to be politically correct. I don’t care about being politically correct at this point.
“President Obama, You don’t love America. If you really did love America, you would call ISIS what it really is: an assault on Christianity, an assault on America and downright hate for the American values that our country holds – freedom of speech, freedom of religion and every single thing that our country stands for.”
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on June 25, 2014
The Sudanese woman who was sentenced to death for being a Christian has been released from her latest detention but has been charged with new crimes, MailOnline can reveal.Meriam Ibrahim has been accused of falsifying travel documents as she tried to leave the African country hours after the death penalty was dropped against her.It is understood that the authorities told her she should have used the Muslim nameshe had when she was born, not the Christian name she uses after choosing to worship that faith.The new allegations are a huge setback to Meriam’s hopes of leaving Sudan and a further sign that the Sudanese government is playing twisted games over her release.It came as campaigners working to free the mother-of-two attacked the U.S. Department of State for its ‘shameful’ response to helping her.Tina Ramirez, founder of religious freedom organization Hardwired, called for Congress to investigate the ‘incredibly negligent’ handling of Meriam Ibrahim’s case.In an interview with MailOnline, Ramirez said that the State Department had been aware of Daniel and Meriam’s case since 2011 when they first married.In September last year, when Meriam, 27, was first arrested, Daniel went to the U.S. embassy in Sudan three times but was told that the ambassador was too busy to see him.Ramirez said: ‘The US government should have coordinated with the government of Sudan to get them out of the country. This is sloppy.
‘They have had three years to sort this out and whenever Daniel has gone to the U.S. embassy in Sudan for help they have refused.
‘I think that Congress should be investigating what happened here.
‘The US says that it cares about human rights issues and this is something they should be caring about. It’s a total failure, it’s shameful.’Ramirez said it was a ‘good question’ as to why U.S. officials on the ground did not put Meriam and Daniel on their plane and make sure they were able to leave.Source
Selected comments…
“This is normal procedure for the Islamic Republic of Sudan. Deceptions, denials, and delays have kept the regime in business for decades.”“Khartoum excels in confusion. The airport confusion could very well be deliberately caused by the Khartoum regime for no further reason than to inflict parting trauma on the infidels before they leave the country.”“They are not going to be happy until she is dead.”“They are literally toying with this woman’s life in front of the eyes of the world. Can’t some US official interfere? After all her husband is a US resident!”“All women should leave these God forbidden countries like this, governed by animals.”“They are not going to be happy until she is dead.”“No one should be tolerant of a religion that preaches hate, death, violence and EXTREME intolerance! ““I feel outraged! What is this country about? This woman has done NOTHING wrong…. What I want to know is what is the World leaders going to do about this?!!!! Women in these barbaric countries are treated like $h!t….”“Obama did how much to get the traitor Bergdahl released but he hasn’t lifted a finger to help this family”“Not a single word from Hillary Clinton , Pelosi , Gloria Steinman , and other Feminists . Liberals are the biggest bunch of double talking , two face, HYPOCRITES, I have ever seen in my life. Liberal women are completely in alliance with the Islamic groups, why ? Money does a lot to shut people up .”“I fear this is not going to end well. The authorities are playing games, hope all works out well for her and her family. God bless you Meriam. Stay strong.”
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on June 5, 2014
The brother of a Sudanese woman facing the death penalty for ‘abandoning her Islamic faith’ has said she ‘should be executed’ if she continues to be a Christian. Meriam Ibrahim, who gave birth to a daughter in her prison cell last week, has been sentenced to 100 lashes and death by hanging after a Sharia court convicted her for converting to Christianity, and ‘adultery’ because she had wed a non-Muslim.Today her brother Al Samani Al Hadi tod CNN that he had denounced his sister to the authorities because his family are ‘Muslim people.’But Ms Ibrahim, 27, maintains that her Muslim father left when she was young and that she was raised a Christian by her Ethiopian mother, who is an Orthodox Christian.‘It’s one of two; if she repents and returns to our Islamic faith and to the embrace of our family, then we are her family and she is ours,’ he said.‘But if she refuses she should be executed,’ he told CNN.Continue reading…
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on May 27, 2014
… to her second child, a baby girl MayaMeriam Yahya Ibrahim, 27, gave birth to her second child five days earlier while shackled to the floor inside a filthy Sudan prison. The mother of two made headlines after a Sudan court sentenced her to a horrific death solely because of her Christianity, which has since sparked international outrage. Meriam’s American husband, Daniel Wani, is desperately fighting for her freedom before it’s too late.This story continues to break our hearts.Meriam, 27, was sentenced to death by hanging earlier this month after being found guilty of converting from Islam to Christianity and marrying a Christian man, U.S. citizen Daniel Wani, who lives in Manchester, New Hampshire.She will receive 100 lashes before she is executed – sometime in the next two years.Before the birth, Meriam made the defiant claim that she would rather die than give up her faith.In a heart-wrenching conversation with her husband during a rare prison visit, Meriam told him: ‘If they want to execute me then they should go ahead and do it because I’m not going to change my faith.’An Islamic Sharia judge said she could be spared the death penalty if she publicly renounced her faith and becomes a Muslim once more.Meriam insists she has always been a Christian and told her husband she could not ‘pretend to be a Muslim’ just to spare her life.Meriam was arrested in mid-September, three weeks after her second child was conceived.She told him: ‘I refuse to change. I am not giving up Christianity just so that I can live.‘I know I could stay alive by becoming a Muslim and I would be able to look after our family, but I need to be true to myself.’Daniel, a 27-year-old biochemist, revealed his wife’s defiant stance during an exclusive interview with MailOnline at his modest home in the dusty Sudanese capital city of Khartoum.At first the couple dismissed the allegations against them as trivial, but when the case grew more serious Daniel went to the American Embassy in Khartoum for help.‘I thought this would be the one place which would help me, but they told me they didn’t have time to do anything,’ Daniel said. ‘I was upset because now that I am American citizen I thought they would help me.‘I was threatened. They said “well your wife isn’t American, so we can’t help”. I felt disgusted. My home is in America and still they won’t help. It’s getting uglier and it’s not going in the right direction.’Mr Wani said the State Department asked him to provide DNA evidence proving that Martin was his biological son.He added: ‘I have provided wedding documents and the baby’s birth certificate, but this is clearly not enough. It’s very upsetting that they don’t believe me.‘They want me to take a DNA sample in Khartoum, then send it to the US for testing. It’s as if they don’t believe a word I say.’They say the marriage is void. Now, even my wife is no longer my wife. And my son is not mine and my new daughter is not mine. They say I am a stranger to them.Her lawyer, Mohaned Mustafa Elnour, a Muslim, has received death threats for defending her but has already lodged an appeal. If he does not succeed at the Appeal Court, he will take the case to Sudan’s Supreme Court.Speaking from his office in a ramshackle building close to the River Nile, he said: ‘Once this case became public there was only one way that this case was going to go.‘The clamour for a guilty verdict from the Sudanese press and from government figures intensified and they got what they wanted. There is a large section of the public here that want her to be hanged.‘But even if Meriam was freed she would never be able to live in Sudan again. It just wouldn’t be safe.‘There are many Muslims who are very angry with this situation and they say that if the court doesn’t kill her then they will when she is released.A petition calling for her release had last week reached more than 650,000.Selected comments:
“I first read this story over a week ago about Merriam’s terrible plight I find it totally outrageous that the world leaders have sat around and left this woman and her family to this in humane fate.”“How the hell can this be happening in these modern times? It is like something from the middle ages. I hope something can be done to get her out of there.”“What is being done to help this poor family? This is shameful and all humanity must hang their heads in shame if this goes ahead. No one should be persecuted because of ‘religion’”“And yet President Obama has done NOTHING and said NOTHING. John Kerry – NOTHING. Michelle Obama has no hashtag for Meriam Ibrahim. Its disgusting.”“For all those Mothers who complain about Midwifery care in the UK….. Just stop and think about the drugs, medication, clean sheets, expertise and care you were given….. then think about what this woman possibly went through.”“Unfortunately, this woman’s story is emblematic of what goes on daily in countries that don’t acknowledge or respect human rights or human dignity . . . “Their” God is an enigma to me; “their” religious practices, barbaric.”“Poor woman! I admire her for her faith and courage can you imagine a Muslim being arrested in a christian country and forced to convert or die? Where is moderate muslim outrage? She is blessed in that this case is making mainstream news many nationals of Islamic countries that convert are murdered. I hope this will shine the light on christian persecution all over the world as for sudan what a wicked country they must be so afraid that if they give people freedom of religion or belief many will desert national religion. I am believing she will be rescued!!! Please any kind hearted muslim speak up for her”“I’m not surprised she wants to be a christian and not a muslim if that is the kind of behaviour they believe to be acceptable.”“This brave woman is an example to Christians everywhere to stand up for their faith and she is a huge inspiration to stay true and a confirmation to the doubters that Christianity is a faith worth dying for!”“May The Lord have mercy and spare her life. It’ll be a great testimony.”Source
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on May 20, 2014
“Give them the punishment they so richly deserve! Measure it out in proportion to their wickedness. Pay them back for all their evil deeds! Give them a taste of what they have done to others. For they do not understand the LORD’s actions, or the way he carries out justice. The LORD will permanently demolish them”.[Psalm 28:4-5]The case of Meriam Ibrahim, the pregnant Christian Sudanese women sentenced to death for ‘apostasy’ (leaving Islam), has sent shockwaves around the global community. But how common is this sort of case? Meriam Ibrahim was arrested on 17 February 2014, after Sudanese authorities found out she had married a Christian man. The court told Mrs Ibrahim she had until May 15 to convert to Islam, but she refused and the sentence was upheld. She remains imprisoned, along with her 20 month-old son, and her family reports she has not been allowed to receive visitors nor to access medical treatment. Her lawyers have filed an appeal which could take several months. So what is likely to happen? Will international intervention make a difference? And what does the wider religious and political landscape look like in Sudan? Here’s an overview of the key facts and analysis surrounding the case which has gripped the world’s attention.Is there proof that Meriam Ibrahim has always been a Christian, does that matter?Mrs Ibrahim was born in Western Sudan to a Sudanese Muslim father and an Ethiopian Orthodox mother. Her father left the family when she was six years old and she was subsequently brought up as a Christian by her mother. Although she is a life-long practising Christian, under Sudanese law Mrs Ibrahim is considered a Muslim because her father is a Muslim. Under Shari’a law in Sudan, Muslim women cannot marry non-Muslim men, so as she is considered to be a Muslim, her marriage is considered to be invalid. She is on a separate charge of adultery, in addition to apostasy.Mrs Ibrahim testified in court on 4 March that she is a Christian, producing her marriage certificate, where she is classified as Christian, as proof of her religion. Three potential witnesses from western Sudan who went to the hearing to testify of Mrs Ibrahim’s lifelong adherence to Christianity were prevented from giving evidence.It should not matter whether Mrs Ibrahim has always been a Christian or whether she has left Islam to become a Christian – her right to freedom of religion or belief is protected under the interim Sudanese constitution, as well as under international conventions to which Sudan is party, that include the right to adopt a belief of one’s choice. This is a non-derogable human right.She’s allowed to give birth – what will happen to the child and her toddler if she is put to death?It is difficult to predict. The children will be seen as Muslim because their mother is considered to be Muslim, therefore it is unlikely that the state would allow Muslim children to be raised by their non-Muslim father. The children would be treated as wards of the state, or could be placed with estranged Muslim relatives from her father’s side of the family.What does apostasy mean? How is it proven? Is it a common offence in Sudan?Apostasy refers to the act of renouncing a religion. According to strict interpretations of Shari’a law, apostasy from Islam is an offence punishable by death. In Sudan, Shari’a law is one of the sources of law under the constitution. Furthermore, apostasy is codified as a criminal offence in article 126 of the country’s Penal Code. This means that a person can be charged, convicted and sentenced in a court of law, as has happened to Meriam, for this religious offence.What’s the religious breakdown of Sudan? How free are its Christians? What is the religious landscape in Sudan and where are the tension points?Over 97% of those living in Sudan are Muslim. Under the regime of President al Bashir, an Islamist, Christians and religious minorities have been consistently harassed. Both blasphemy and apostasy are illegal, with the latter carrying the ultimate penalty of death. Christians are prohibited from holding open air meetings, and violence against those identifying themselves as Christian is common.The challenges faced by religious minorities have existed for decades; successive governments have been hostile to religious and ethnic minorities, particularly since the Shari’a declaration of 1983. Decades of discrimination and violence played a decisive role in causing the South (which contains large Christian, animist and non-Arab communities) to separate from the predominantly Muslim and Arabised North. President al-Bashir repeatedly stated that following southern independence, Sudan would become an Islamic state with a new Shari’a-based constitution, which is in the process of being drafted in an opaque and non-inclusive manner.Since the 2011 secession of South Sudan, religious minorities have experienced even greater hardship, hostility, and isolation. In particular, since December 2012, Christian Solidarity Worldwide has noted an increase in detentions, interrogations and deportations of Christians, as well as the confiscation and destruction of churches and church properties.Do lots of people get put to death for apostasy? Are there other cases like this in Sudan which the international community doesn’t know about?If the sentence is carried out, Mrs Ibrahim will become the first person to be executed for apostasy under the 1991 penal code, prompting concerns that the charge may then be used increasingly against anyone who converts from Islam.There have been other cases where people have been charged with apostasy, which have not received international attention because often individuals recant their new faith before the sentence is confirmed.What is the international community doing? And how influential are they likely to be? A number of countries have spoken out strongly on Meriam’s case, including the UK, Canada and the US. The UK government summoned the Sudanese Ambassador to the Foreign Office on the matter and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has also spoken out, reminding Sudan of its obligations under international law. The more the international concern, especially from African and Middle Eastern countries and key Sudanese allies, the greater the likelihood that condemnation will make a difference. The Sudanese government has already been forced to issue a statement on Meriam’s case, which means they are paying attention to the growing chorus of criticism.You can add your voice by writing to the Sudanese embassy.SourcePregnant Sudanese Woman To Give Birth Before Being Killed For ChristianityAs she awaits her death sentence, Meriam is currently living in a tiny Sudanese prison cell with her son, Martin. The court has declared that Meriam will be able to carry her second baby to term, give birth, and nurse the baby before she is whipped 100 times and then killed.Should parents be alarmed if their crying baby turns blue? Dr. Sears explains what can cause a baby’s skin to turn blue, and when it…Meriam’s son is with her in prison only because he is considered a Muslim, which means his Christian father is not legally allowed to care for or raise him. Everything about this horrible situation is absolutely absurd.Daniel Wani, Meriam’s husband and the father of her children, was allowed to see his wife and son for the first time on Monday, May 19, since her sentencing.That’s when he saw that she was shackled at the ankles inside her cell, and that her legs were swollen. According to Daniel, she could give birth at any time as she is due at June Daniel is devastated about his wife’s sentencing and requested that he be able to bring her to the Sudan hospital where she gave birth to their first child, but his request was denied.
“I’m so frustrated. I don’t know what to do,” Daniel told CNN in a heartbreaking interview after his wife’s sentencing. “I’m just praying.”Our thoughts and prayers are also with Meriam and her family, especially her unborn baby. Hopefully, government officials will step up and get involved and work to save Meriam and her son, Martin.Source8 Months Pregnant, She is Being Shackled While Awaiting Death for Rejecting IslamNews reports out today indicate the Christian woman sentenced to death in Sudan for rejecting Islam is being shackled by Sudanese officials despite the fact she is eight-months pregnant. The Islamic court is waiting until Meriam Ibrahim, 26, gives birth before carrying out the sentence but she is reportedly held in chains until then.In addition, a statement from several attorneys associated with the Sudanese high court was released Monday, calling for an appeal of Ibrahim’s death sentence.
“The [Sudanese] government is afraid of the international attention,” Ramirez said. “They are paying attention and this [statement] is a sign of that.”Ibrahim and Wani were married in a formal ceremony in 2011 and have an 18-month-old son, Martin, who is with her in jail. The couple operates several businesses, including a farm, south of Khartoum, the country’s capital.Wani fled to the United States as a child to escape the civil war in southern Sudan, but later returned. He is not permitted to have custody of his son because the boy is considered Muslim and cannot be raised by a Christian man.Ibrahim was convicted under the Islamist-run government of apostasy (the crime of renouncing or insulting Islam) punishable by death in some Muslim-majority countries. According to news reports, lawyers representing her told Amnesty International that religious clerics in court had asked the 27-year-old Thursday if she would recant her faith, but she told them: “I am a Christian.”Hours after a Sudanese court sentenced his pregnant wife to death when she refused to recant her Christian faith.The death sentence issued to a woman who refused to renounce Christianity for Islam in Sudan is an “egregious violation of basic human rights,” Congressman Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees U.S. policy in Africa, said previously.
“This is an affront to religious freedom everywhere,” Smith said. “The refusal of the government of Sudan to allow religious freedom was one of the reasons for Sudan’s long civil war. The U.S. and the rest of the international community must demand Sudan reverse this sentence immediately.”
“Mrs. Ibrahim’s willingness to stand-up for her faith—even in the face of death—is a true mark of uncommon courage and bravery,” Smith said. “This case in Sudan mirrors a similar incident 18 months ago in Nigeria in which Boko Haram shot Habila Adamu, who refused to renounce Christianity just like Mrs. Ibrahim.”Adamu, shot in the head and left for dead, was the only adult male Christian in his village to survive that November 2012 attack. He lived to travel to Washington to give riveting testimony before a congressional hearing Smith held in November 2013: “They asked me, ‘Are you ready to die as a Christian?’ he testified, “and I told them, ‘I am ready,’ but before I closed my mouth, they have fired.”SourceIslamic Bloc Silent on Apostasy Death Sentence for Christian Mother in SudanThe sentencing to death of a pregnant Sudanese Christian mother convicted of “apostasy” has drawn sharp condemnation from a number of Western countries – but no word from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), a number of whose member-states have apostasy laws on their books.At least 21 OIC members have laws at a national or state level penalizing apostasy, or leaving Islam. Eleven are Arab states, including Sudan and Saudi Arabia, while the rest are in Asia (Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Malaysia, Maldives, Brunei) and Africa (Mauritania, Nigeria, Somalia, Comoros).The OIC, the 57-member Islamic bloc whose Saudi-based secretariat regularly issues statements on matters of concern relating to the Muslim world, has been silent on the case so far.Five years ago the OIC’s International Islamic Fiqh Academy, which issues global religious edicts on the OIC’s behalf, met to discuss contentious issues including that of apostasy, but scholars at the conference disagreed over ruling out the death penalty for offenders.The meeting issued a fatwa that affirmed support for the traditional view of apostasy while at the same time invoking conditional religious freedom.
“Avowed apostasy constitutes a danger to the unity of the Muslim community and to the Muslims’ belief. It also encourages non-Muslims or hypocrites to use it as a means whereby to cast doubts,” it said. “A person who does so deserves to be punished for apostasy, which is only to be meted out by the judiciary. This is to ward off the danger posed by such a person and to protect society and keep it safe. This ruling does by no means contradict religious freedom that is ensured by Islam for whosoever respects religious sensitivities and the society’s values and general order.”The fatwa did not spell out the punishment for an unrepentant apostate.Three days to repentSeveral Islamic states impose the death penalty for apostasy.Article 146 of Sudan’s criminal code says that a Muslim who renounces Islam must be put to death unless he or she recants within three days.Mauritania’s criminal code also provides for a three-day period of reflection and repentance for any Muslim found guilty of apostasy. “If he does not repent within this time limit, he is to be condemned to death as an apostate and his property will be confiscated by the Treasury,” it says.Saudi Arabia placed apostasy on a par with rape, murder and drug trafficking as offenses punishable by death.Iran’s treatment of apostates drew international attention with the case of Youcef Nadarkhani, a pastor sentenced to death for apostasy more than a decade after his conversion. After a lengthy legal battle he was eventually acquitted in September 2012.In Afghanistan, a Christian convert named Abdul Rahman was sentenced to death in 2006 for apostasy, but after the U.S. and other Western members of the coalition forces there brought pressure to bear on the Karzai administration, he was freed and allowed to seek asylum abroad.Five years later another Afghan convert to Christianity, Said Musa, found himself in a similar plight. Again, international condemnation saw him freed and able to leave the country.Just last month Brunei, a small sultanate in Southeast Asia, became the latest OIC state to introduce the death penalty for apostasy, among other shari’a-based punishments including stoning for adultery and limb amputation for theft.
‘Kill him’Scholars defending the death-for-apostasy view point to the Islamic canonical tradition called the Hadith, which does contain references to execution for apostasy, including one in which Mohammed commands, “Any [Muslim] person who has changed his religion, kill him.”That view still carries significant support in some Muslims countries, opinion surveys indicate.A Pew Research poll in 2010 found large majorities in Jordan (86 percent), Egypt (84 percent) and Pakistan (76 percent) voiced support for the death penalty for apostates from Islam.SourceSaudi Arabia: Filipino Maid Disfigured with Boiling Water for not Bringing Coffee on Time
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on May 13, 2014
My note: The old photo displayed on the Source page isn’t a Church in Khartoum, Sudan, rather, an Ethiopian church in Addis Abeba: Bisrate Gebriel Orthodox Tewahedo Church. Lord Have Mercy!A Sudanese medical doctor has been convicted of apostasy and sentenced to death by the El Haj Yousif Criminal Court in Khartoum North on Sunday.Doctor Maryam Yahya Ibrahim was charged with apostasy under Article 126 of the Sudanese Criminal Law concerning conversion from Islam to another religion, and of adultery under Article 146 of the same law.Judge Abbas Mohamed Khalifa called the Islamic Dawa organisation and the Sudanese Fatwa Council of Fatwa as experts on the matter. The doctor was convicted for adultery as she had conceived without being married under Muslim law. Her husband was acquitted as he had married her under Christian law.The doctor, who is pregnant, has been held in Omdurman Federal Women’s Prison since 17 February, with her 20-month-old son. She was born in western Sudan to an Ethiopian Christian mother and a Sudanese Muslim father. Her father disappeared from her life when she was six years old. Witnesses have testified that her mother raised her in the Christian faith.
“The court gave her until Thursday to repent,” a lawyer told Radio Dabanga. “It seems that the court is pressuring her to convert to Islam in exchange for her life,” she noted.
Addis Ethiopia Weblog 