Monitor The Strategic Trends

Introduction:

Tolerance is the buzz word ricocheting around politically correct circles over the past few years. What that really means is that all political, philosophical and theologically correct viewpoints must be tolerated, and any other viewpoints must be mercilessly squelched. The bottom line of this whole rhetoric is that the Christian viewpoint is hateful and must be silenced.

National Day of Prayer For the Persecuted Church Is November 13 November 01, 2011

Religion Is Just A Patsy September 13, 2011

The Norway Shooter Is No Fundamentalist Christian July 26, 2011

Not Christians, Not Scientists January 04, 2011

Christianity Around The World in 2010 December 28, 2010

The Lure of the Occult by Chuck Missler

Global Religion: Spirit Guides: Coming to a Church Near You? by Leisa Garcia, Director of Issachar Studies

Strategic Trends Update: Coming to America: Tony Blair Faith Foundation by Leisa Garcia, IDB Folio Specialist

Strategic Trends Update: The Placebo Effect of Mystical Experience by by Leisa Garcia, IDB Folio Specialist

Strategic Trends Update: Whatever Happened to the New Age? Part 2 by Leisa Garcia, Folio Specialist

Documents

Who stole Harry Potter's phoenix? -

Related Sites

Message To Buddhists For The Feast Of Vesakh 2001 - An example of efforts to bring Buddhists and Christians together.

Earth Charter Completed--Global Religion Not Far Away -

Bah' Faith - The second most global religion -

Eagle Forum - Keep up to date with education in politics

Voice of the Martyrs - Updates on persecuted Christians worldwide.

News Sources

Pope Visits Cuba - Pope Benedict arrived in Cuba on Monday and told the government it had nothing to fear from the Catholic Church, asking for more freedoms to help the communist country in times of change. Just three days after saying that communism no longer works in Cuba, the pope took a softer stance as he landed in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba for a three-day trip aimed at boosting the Church's role on the island. The 84-year-old German pope delivered a carefully worded, nuanced and balanced arrival address after he was greeted warmly by President Raul Castro. He was less direct in his criticism of Cuba's one-party political system than he had been when speaking to reporters on Friday, although he did offer some thinly veiled phrases addressing Cuba's human rights record.

Suicide Bomb Miraculously Blows AWAY From Church - According to AllAfrica.com, a sucide bombing in Ghana last week killed three church members and injured 40 more. Had a motorcyclist not gotten in the way, however, the entire church full of people would have been destroyed. Koinonia House received a copy of the following letter from eyewitness Chris Morris, who declared the protection of God in the situation, saying, "The absolutely amazing thing is the force of the bomb went backwards, away from the church, killing 3 people, but sparing the nearly 1,000 people inside. Had any of that gone the other way, the whole structure would have collapsed on everyone. Picture the Samson/Philistine scenario and you have an idea of what this church looks like. The devastation was so awful that later when people saw it, the refrain on everyone's lips was, 'ONLY God could have done this..only GOD could have blown the blast backwards...only God could hold up an invisible hand and shield the people from death.'" Praise the Lord for His protection on the churches in Ghana.

Christianity Is Growing - And So Is Persecution - Christianity is growing almost as fast as humanity itself, but its 2.2 billion adherents cannot count on safety in numbers. According to a report published by the Pew Forum in December, the Christian share of the population of sub-Saharan Africa has soared over the past century, from 9 percent to 63 percent. Meanwhile, the think-tank says, the Christian proportion of Europeans and people in the Americas has dropped, respectively, from 95 to 76 percent and from 96 to 86 percent. But moving from the jaded north to the dynamic south does not portend an easy future. In Nigeria scores of Christians have died in Islamist bomb attacks, targeting Christmas prayers. Dozens of churches in Indonesia have been attacked or shut. In Egypt and Syria, where secular despots gave Christianity a shield of sorts, political upheaval and Muslim zeal threaten ancient Christian groups. In India Hindu nationalists want to penalise Christians who make converts...

Evangelical Leaders See Secularism As Greater Threat Than Islam - Evangelical leaders around the world say they do not see Muslims as as much of a threat to their faith as secularism and popular culture. The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life conducted the survey during what it called a "geographically representative" meeting of global evangelical leaders last year in South Africa. While a century ago the world's 80 million evangelicals lived mostly in Europe and America, that population has since tripled and today most live in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia.

Vatican upset with Saddam Video -