Persecution of Christians in Iraq
“They are killing our people in the name of Allah and telling people that anyone who kills a Christian will go straight to heaven.” This was the chilling comment from a leading Orthodox churchman on the escalating scenes of terror in Iraq. Satan is blinding these murderers and persecutors, deluding them about a reward in the world to come – even if it means giving up their own lives while perpetrating their heinous crimes. Persecution of Christians in the Middle East is rapidly approaching genocidal proportions.
While thousands of Christians are unaccounted for and presumed dead, over one million Christians are said to have left their homes after ISIS, or IS (Islamic State) claimed that it had created a caliphate, or Islamic state, stretching from Aleppo in Syria to Diyala in Iraq. A cleric said, “The persecution is of immense proportions”, and added, “Christians fled from their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs. They are walking . . . in Iraq’s searing heat towards the Kurdish cities of Irbil, Duhok and Soulaymiya – the sick, the elderly, infants and pregnant women among them, facing a human catastrophe.” These people are crying out for help from the West,
both for protection and humanitarian aid: “If we are not protected soon, there will be none of us left in the country – which is our country – and no churches”.
Some churches are being burnt; others are being converted into mosques as ruthless jihadists take them under their control. When they captured Qaraqosh, the largest Christian town in Iraq, on August 7, it led to a significant heightening of fear amongst Christians. In Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, and one which had a substantial Christian presence, IS told those wanting to remain to give up their faith and submit to Islamic rule or face execution. Red marks were painted on vacated houses indicating death for any who would dare to return. Mosul is now said to be empty of Christians.
We do not know how orthodox those are who call themselves Christians but it is evident that anyone who carries that name will not be tolerated by this barbaric Islamic regime. Their ultimate intention is to subjugate the whole world to their poisonous ideology and we in the UK are under threat as well as those in the Middle East. British Prime Minister David Cameron is realising, to a degree, although sadly with little reference to God, that “If we do not act to stem the onslaught of this exceptionally dangerous terrorist movement, it will only grow stronger until it can target us on the streets of Britain”. He is anxious about an estimated 400 radicalised recruits to IS from the UK who have gone to fight jihad in Iraq and Syria. He fears they will return home to carry out acts of terror and has threatened to have anyone seen with an ISIS flag, or trying to recruit people to its cause, arrested.
Mr Cameron does not, however, seem to appreciate Islam’s unwavering aim of world domination. He differentiates falsely between moderates and extremists, when he argues that this is “a battle between Islam on the one hand and extremists who want to abuse Islam on the other”. He “goes down to Egypt for help” when he relies on, as he puts it, “all our resources – aid, diplomacy, our military prowess – to help bring about a more stable world”. These are spiritual foes and we need spiritual weapons. A Church of England minister, Rev Nicholas Baines has written to the Prime Minister expressing “his serious concerns that we do not seem to have a coherent or comprehensive approach to Islamist extremism as it is developing across the globe”. He criticised “the increasing silence” on the plight of the tens of thousands of persecuted Christians and asked if they would be offered asylum in the UK.
The humanitarian aid organisation, Save the Children, is heavily involved in Iraq and their director states that the degree and speed of displacement is unprecedented. “We are seeing children and families who have fled their homes, often in the middle of the night, fearing for their lives and, when they
find somewhere safe to shelter, they don’t have the means to buy basic necessities like food and medicines”. Many are said to be “trapped in the desert with nowhere to go”.
Open Doors, a Christian charity, has increased its relief work in the region. With partners it is providing food and hygiene parcels to several thousand displaced families. Its reports indicate something of the scale of the need. In some towns homes are filled with escaped relatives, churches are also filled, overflowing into halls and into gardens. One church hall housed 200 families in primitive conditions and it was reported that two babies had been born there. Another worker went to help, as he thought, 13 families on the Nineveh plain and found 200 people sleeping on the ground. One church is supplying meals to over 1000 people.
However, all these people, although still in great danger, have escaped with their lives. Others have not. The media report beheadings and unspeakable atrocities carried out on Christians and on others, including children. We need to pray for better days when it will be said: “So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him” (Is 59:19). KHM
The Wonders of Tobacco Smoke
A poster in the hospital lists 14 substances found in tobacco smoke, together with common uses for some of them, or situations in which they can be found. The list includes carbon monoxide, nicotine, tar, ammonia, arsenic, benzene, butane, formaldehyde, DDT. At the end of the list come the radioactive substances radon and polonium (used in the murder of the Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko). Much longer lists can be found on the internet, and indeed it is said that there are over 4000 chemicals in tobacco smoke. The purpose of the poster, of course, was to deter people from smoking, but at the same time one cannot help marvelling that tobacco smoke should be so exceedingly rich in chemical substances. One book, The Chemical Components of Tobacco and Tobacco Smoke, says that over 80 chemical elements have been found in tobacco smoke, 90% of the naturally occurring elements.
Not all these substances are found in the tobacco itself; some come from additives and many are only present when the tobacco is set alight. Others come in from fertilizers and from contaminants in the air where the tobacco grew. Others, however, form an essential part of the plant, and indeed are said to be “extremely important” to its health. Tobacco belongs to the nightshade family of plants, which includes potatoes, tomatoes, chillies, and the
biblical mandrakes, but also several plants containing powerful poisons. Some of these poisons, however, are useful as drugs in very small doses, for example in reversing the effects of agents employed in chemical warfare.
In considering these astonishing complexities, one can only say with the Psalmist: “O Lord, how manifold are Thy works! In wisdom hast Thou made them all: the earth is full of Thy riches” (Ps 104:24). How evolutionists can satisfy themselves that tobacco, fertilisers and human beings have all come into existence by chance is another matter of astonishment. It shows the exceeding hardness and wickedness of the human heart. DWBS
Church Information
Theological Conference
This year’s Theological Conference will be held, God willing, in the Free Presbyterian Church, Inverness, on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 28-29. Rev D W B Somerset is to act as chairman. It is expected that the following papers will be read, all of which will be in public:
Christian Fellowship
Rev J R Tallach Tuesday 2.30 pm
The Mediation of Christ
Rev A W MacColl Tuesday 7.00 pm
The Theology of the Cross in Preaching
Rev Roderick MacLeod Wednesday 10.00 am
The Reformation in Spain
Rev K D Macleod Wednesday 2.30 pm
John Wycliffe
Rev K M Watkins Wednesday 7.00 pm
(Rev) J R Tallach, Convener, Training of the Ministry Committee
Ballifary House Fifty Years on
On Tuesday, 12 August 2014, some 90 invited guests gathered in a marquee on the lawn of Ballifary House Residential Care Home to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the Home. The Convener conducted worship and read Luke 2:1-35. He spoke briefly on Christ as “the consolation of Israel”, who lay in Simeon’s arms.
The Matron, Mrs Ella MacDonald, chaired the rest of the meeting. There were brief speeches from Matron herself, Inverness Deputy Provost Mrs Bet McAllister and Mr A MacLean, Clerk of Ballifary Care Home Committee. Matron spoke of the small beginnings of the Home and referred to the matrons
who had served over the years, including Mrs M MacSwan, from 1975 to 1984, who had passed away during the previous night. The Care Inspectorate, she said, had made requirements which had put other care homes out of business, but Ballifearny had complied, survived and grown. Mrs C MacLean’s retirement as administrator at the end of August was a particular concern, but Matron trusted that the Lord would provide a successor. Matron was especially indebted to Mr A MacLean for support and advice.
Mrs McAllister stood in for the Provost and apologised for his absence. She warned that money from the Council for the support of residential homes would become even more difficult to obtain in the future. She stated that Ballifearny was a model for other homes in the delivery of care and encouraged the Committee and staff to continue the good work.
Mr A MacLean recalled that in 1957 a Committee consisting of Revs W Grant, A F MacKay and D Campbell, Dr M Tallach and Mr J P H Mackay (now Lord Mackay) was set up by the Synod to investigate the feasibility of obtaining property for use as a care home for the Church. Lord Mackay, the only surviving member of that Committee, was present. Rev N M Ross and Mr S Grant were also associated with early developments in the Home, which opened in 1964.
Mr MacLean noted the Convener, Rev J R Tallach, had been a member of the Committee for 30 years. On behalf of the Committee, the Deputy Matron, Jackie MacKenzie, and the Administrator presented Rev J R Tallach with a watch and a Westminster Reference Bible.
Miss C J Tallach, a past Matron, cut a specially-commissioned cake and a buffet lunch was served. The Convener brought proceedings towards a close with a short speech in which he thanked the Committee for their generosity. He noted the difficulties of old age and the consolation and hope of the gospel. There followed prayer and the singing of the last four verses of Psalm 72. A pleasant atmosphere prevailed and several people expressed their indebtedness to the Lord for His providence to the Home over the years.
(Rev) J R Tallach
Depute Matron at Ballifearny Care Home
Applications are invited for the above position. The successful applicant will support the Matron in the running of the Home. An essential aspect of the work is to support the Christian ethos of Ballifearny Home. Applicants require to be suitably qualified to SVQ4 standard or have a suitable nursing qualification. Experience in the care sector is desirable. This is a full-time position with evening/night on-call on a rotational basis. Applications and requests for additional information should be sent to the Clerk of the Ballifearny Home Committee: Mr A MacLean, 32 Urquhart Road, Dingwall, IV15 9PE.