I have now to ask whether you can consent to part with your daughter early next spring, to see her no more in this world ? whether you can consent to her departure to a heathen land, and her subjection to the hardships and sufferings of a missionary life? whether you can consent to her exposure to the dangers of the ocean; to the fatal influence of the southern climate of India; to every kind of want and distress; to degradation, insult, persecution, and perhaps a violent death? Can you consent to all this, for the sake of Him who left His heavenly home and died for her and for you; for the sake of perishing, immortal souls; for the sake of Zion and the glory of God? Can you consent to all this, in hope of soon meeting your daughter in the world of glory, with a crown of righteousness brightened by the acclamations of praise which shall redound to her Saviour from heathens saved, through her means, from eternal woe and despair?

Her father consented.

At the end of their first six years, only one man had turned to Christ. But for Judson giving up was not an option. When he received a letter from the Mission Board in America asking after his work, he answered, “The prospects are as bright as the promise of God.”

“I will not leave Burma,” he declared, “until the cross is planted here forever!“ It is now estimated that there are 2 million Christians in Burma.

To live is Christ, to die is gain – there is only one life worth living.

Well it certainly looks as if he’s got some way to go in his attempts. The Pew Forum’s recent Report on the Size and Distribution of the World’s Christian Population shows that as of 2010 Christianity is the world’s largest religion (2.18 billion)and accounts for one third of the global population. A proportion that has remained unchanged despite 100 years of secularisation and oppression of Christianity in communist countries.

Clearly, the Baroness is either ignorant or in denial over the persecution of minority faith communities in Pakistan who face the threat of being arrested under Pakistan’s Blasphemy Law.  Far more reliable a guide to the true state of affairs in Pakistan are the comments of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom;

In Pakistan, blasphemy allegations, which commonly are false, result in the lengthy detention of, and sometimes violence against, Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus, and members of other religious minorities as well as Muslims on account of their religious beliefs. Because the laws require no evidence to be presented after allegations are made and no proof of intent, and contain no penalty for leveling false allegations, they are easily used by extremists to intimidate members of religious minorities and others with whom they disagree. They are also often used by the unscrupulous simply to carry out a vendetta or gain an advantage over another.

Given that the Baroness writes ‘I went to a bishops’ conference and said that this Government would “do God”.’ she could write a piece in the national press next time on the steps she intends to take to put pressure on the Government of Pakistan to amend it’s legislation to prevent systematic persecution of non-Muslims and at the same time she might take the opportunity to put political pressure on other Islamic states that have either Blasphemy laws or apostasy laws that make conversion from Islam to any other faith a crime with severe penalties.



Looks as if this could be an interesting programme on Radio 4 this evening.

As one of China’s most eminent philosophers of religion – Professor He Guanghu, at Renmin University in Beijing put it to me: “The worship of Mammon… has become many people’s life purpose.

“I think it is very natural that many other people will not be satisfied… will seek some meaning for their lives so that when Christianity falls into their lives, they will seize it very tightly.”

For all those who insist that religion poisons everything The Sunday Times Magazine (21^st August 2011) carried the following article;

The first Mercy ship was launched in 1982 by Texan Christians Don and Deyon Stephens, who transformed Victoria, a retired ocean-going liner, into a state-of-the-art clinic. The charity has since sent four ships – all but one retired – into some of the worst trouble zones, including Haiti, Liberia and the Ivory Coast.

The idea behind the project is simple: to create ‘islands’ of care off the coast of some of the world’s most desperately poor countries – beyond the reach of corrupt officials looking to plunder equipment.

The ship depends entirely on volunteers, with a rotating core of 1,000 crew and 2,000 volunteers from more than 40 nations, including surgeons, dentists, nurses, mechanics and school teachers, all of whom pay up to £300 a month for the privilege of living and working on board. The charity has a strong Christian ethos – at the ship’s entrance you encounter a framed prayer, Isaiah 60:18: ‘No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.’

Dr Gary Parker, the chief medical officer works 70- to 80-hour week and has no house, no car, no life savings and no pension.

‘I don’t do this for the praise and gratitude of others. I care for these patients because they have value.’

‘In this job, I have to prefer others above myself and I do.’

Parker has seen local children mutilated by rebels, and other outcast because of such disfiguring but treatable conditions as cleft palates. He is a world expert on head and facial injuries caused by war.

‘Of the people on this boat, 90% are committed followers of Christ. Perhaps 10% aren’t, but most of the surgery we carry out here in Sierra Leone is on Muslim patients. Our core values are Christian but we are not here to proselytise. We are here to save lives.’

On his office wall is a small oil painting of a surgeon at work with Jesus standing over his shoulder, his hand guiding the doctor’s.

‘We are rescuing them from the curse of the night. Allowing them to walk in the light, giving them their face and their humanity back.’

This video link from Mercy Ships own website contains an account of the visit of President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone to the ship along with a speech of thanks from the President for the work of Mercy Ships.

Jim Packer speaks at a memorial service in Vancover, Canada to celebrate the life and ministry of John Stott.

One of the marks of the man was the recognition and respect he earned from those who may not have agreed with his theology but could not fail to admire his humanity. Here is a short piece from the New York Times in 2004 entitled Who Is John Stott?