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Friday, 5 July 2013

Voice of the Martyrs Friday Prayer report: Laos, Honduras, Syria



Reposted from Persecution.com.

VOM-USA Prayer Update for July 5, 2013

Laos--Elderly Couple Evicted from Home
Source: VOM Sources

Philemon 4:19

Two Christian converts have been evicted from their home for seeking prayers for physical healing, a VOM worker reports. On Jan. 10, 2013, Mr. Sakien and his wife, Dong, went to a church in Intee village, Attapeu province, looking for physical healing. Their son and daughter-in-law had told them that they had experienced healing from prayer. Shortly after seeking healing at the church, the couple embraced the Christian faith. Then, on Jan. 23, the village chief issued an eviction order and stated that the couple would be denied residency in the village because of their conversion to Christianity. Sakien and Dong were told to "find a different place where Christians can live." Sakien is very ill, and the couple is currently taking shelter in an unfinished church building in Intee village.

Honduras--Widespread Violence Affects Pastors
Sources: Fuerza Latina Cristiana, VOM Sources

1 Corinthians 15:53-55

Eight pastors have been murdered in Honduras in 2013 alone. In the most recent attack, on Wednesday, June 19, Pastor Eduardo Mejia was stabbed to death. Pastor Mejia led a church called "God Is Love." The other seven pastors killed over the first half of this year have all died from gunshot wounds. An estimated 600,000 illegal weapons circulate in Honduras, and most are owned by criminals. Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world, at about 85 per every 100,000 people, according to data released by human rights organizations. None of the cases involving the murdered pastors has been solved.

Syria--Christians Hopeful amid Civil War
Source: VOM Sources

Acts 2:21

Christians in Syria remain hopeful despite increasingly difficult circumstances, a VOM contact reports. Syrians still face continual threats from snipers and mortars; from June 8 to June 10, dozens of mortars fell around the building where our VOM contact lives. He said many people are begging, searching in the rubbish and looking for a place to stay and that the value of the Syrian pound continues to drop. But he said Christians still have hope. Our contact's church still holds Bible studies, youth meetings, prayer meetings, medical clinics and church services on Sunday. The church, which VOM helps to support, also distributes packages of food, such as rice, pasta and lentils, as well as hygiene products, such as toothpaste and soap. Please pray that the church will be a house of prayer and a center for peace amid the chaos and that many more Syrians will come to Christ. Also pray for stability in the region.

Cuba--VOM Project

Pray for the recipients of 2 million tracts and 20,000 Bibles that will be purchased and distributed in Cuba.

Monday, 24 June 2013

News to Know: You DO have something to hide

Why 'I have nothing to hide' is the wrong way to think about surveillance. - From wired.com.

This piece makes some arguments and points worth thinking about. Privacy is essential in the face of so many laws.

Monday, 17 June 2013

Tuesday, 7 May 2013

Dictum Diei: All men by nature desire to know

"All men by nature desire to know. An indication of this is the delight we take in our senses; for even apart from their usefulness they are loved for themselves; and above all others the sense of sight."

- Aristotle, Metaphysics, Book 1

Saturday, 4 May 2013

News to Know: Sex & College

Parental Warning: 
Please note that many of these articles contain disturbing details and may include explicit quotes. 
I do my best to keep my posts suitable for all ages, but there's no getting around the subject matter here.

YALE UNIVERSITY
Survey: Nine percent of Yale students have accepted money for sex. 
Feds investigate sex misconduct complaints at Yale.
Yale acknowledges 'historic' levels of sexual misconduct.
Gender-neutral housing increases risk of sexual assault.
Yale hosts workshop teaching sensitivity to bestiality. 
Yale adds 'sex-reassignment surgery' to student health plan.

HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Harvard University sponsors 'Hindu same-sex mock wedding' using student funds.

PRINCETON UNIVERISTY
Did Princeton hide a damaging rape survey? (16% of female undergrads at Princeton said they had been raped in an unpublished 2008 survey.)

SWARTHMORE COLLEGE
Swarthmore College accused of under reporting sexual assault crimes.

BROWN UNIVERSITY
Brown Spectator reports, "rape pandemic" is a myth created by poor survey methods

DUKE UNIVERSITY
Duke University will cover sex-change surgery on student insurance.
Duke hikes fees to provide sex-change surgery for students

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
University of Pennsylvania becomes latest Ivy-League to offer "Sex Week"

PASADENA CITY COLLEGE
Pasadena City College offers course devoted to pornography.

UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE
University of Tennessee yanks funding for 'Sex Week.'
Unitarian church helps raise funds for UT's 'Sex Week'

COLLEGE CULTURE
The decline of men in one word - porn - and how colleges aid and abet it
'Tinder got me laid' - College hook-up culture goes virtual, viral
College hook-up culture leaves students clueless about courtship.
"The Blizzard hook-up" - Professor Cronin on college culture
Professor Cronin defends dating

Thursday, 2 May 2013

Verseday Thursday: For though the caves were rabbited - Thoreau

For though the caves were rabbited,
     And the well sweeps were slanted,
Each house seemed not inhabited
     But haunted.

The pensive traveler held his way,
     Silent and melancholy,
For every man an idiot was,
     And every house a folly.

– Henry David  Thoreau