Displaying items by tag: Culture

Europol assists the 28 EU member states in their fight against serious international crime and terrorism. It also works with many non-EU partner states and international organisations to reduce terrorism, drug trafficking, money laundering, organised fraud, euros counterfeiting, and smuggling. But new dangers of online radicalisation and people-trafficking are growing. The networks behind crimes in these areas are quick to seize new opportunities, and are resilient in the face of traditional law enforcement measures. Pray for stronger and wider monitoring of danger through better intelligence-sharing at the highest levels, so that countries can maximise the use of information from all possible sources. Most terrorists have criminal backgrounds, and terrorism is funded by crime. Pray for police across continents to improve the sharing of databases on criminals as they establish an intercontinental cooperation network, so that policing reaches darker places not yet touched by law and order.

Former defence chief General Sir Richard Barrons says the rise of military ‘killer robots’ is almost inevitable. He stated, ‘The advantages of artificially intelligent war machines that can make decisions, learn and open fire without human control will see countries face growing pressure to adopt the technology, despite ethical misgivings.’ In his opinion a proactive international ban, such as the one called for by technology experts recently, is likely to be flouted by unscrupulous countries. He spoke after over a hundred technology leaders wrote an open letter calling the UN to outlaw ‘lethal autonomous weapons’, the use of which will lead to more civilian casualties and abuses. On 27 August the Bishop of Oxford discussed the ethical implications of Artificial Intelligence on Radio 4. To listen, go to

Thousands of missionaries worldwide depend on our prayers for strength. Afghanistan is just one of the nations where people groups have not yet heard about Jesus Christ. Cultural traditions that have survived centuries of invasion are guarded and observed, like that of offering extraordinary hospitality. A strong national identity and their characteristic hard work ethic will doubtless serve community members well as Afghanistan rebuilds. In addition to Islamic beliefs, spiritism (using charms and amulets) is also widespread. Pray for the Christians in the extra American military soon to be deployed to Afghanistan by President Trump. May God inspire them with a spirit of evangelism as they meet the locals who have known frequent war and internal tribal strife. Ask God to restore political peace and stability among tribes, and call for more Christian workers who are trained in the various language dialects to enter Afghan’s mission fields. Pray for Christian relief workers in Pakistan as they witness among displaced Afghans. See also https://joshuaproject.net/people_groups/14372/AF

America’s founding statement that ‘all are created equal’ is forgotten as racism grows there. It grows wherever cultures clash. In the UK teachers spend considerable amounts of learning time dealing with bullying, hate crime, and non-attendance arising from prejudice. One teacher said, ‘I’ve spent countless hours dealing with verbal and physical conflict rooted in fear of difference. In some cases this was triggered by children repeating the views of parents harbouring prejudices of their own.’ She added that there had been an upswing in racism incidents since the 2015 election, when UKIP anti-foreigner rhetoric cascaded from parent to child to playground. Prejudiced views left unchallenged within the education system could ultimately lead to involvement in hate groups and hate crimes by young people who deserve better.

When locusts descended on the American Midwest in 1875, they didn’t just devour crops and forests. They destroyed years of hard-earned progress from settlers struggling to build a better life. In the same way, everyday violence is destroying the efforts of millions trying to rise out of poverty today and, because they are unsafe, the poor cannot benefit from the world’s best efforts to help them thrive. There is an undercover plague that the world is ignoring or has failed to see. The violence crisis is silently undermining the fight against poverty. For the poor, violence is as much a part of life as hunger, illness or unemployment - but it is less visible. Without effective justice systems to protect them from violence (like rape, trafficking and police brutality), the world’s poor live in a state of constant fear.

In October, the Church of England will launch a three-year project aimed at helping people in dioceses across the country to tackle modern slavery. It is the latest in a series of moves the CofE has made to help the government address this phenomenon. Over 200 years since Britain abolished slavery, there are still an estimated 11,700 potential slave victims in the UK. A new report from the National Crime Agency says that modern slavery is now 'prevalent' in every large town and city in the country. The Church of England, with a presence in every parish, is uniquely placed to be the eyes and ears of communities, and will be able to spread a message of awareness further afield. Churches are already running English classes for survivors. See also article 3 in this week’s World section.

Statistics from the Home and Foreign Offices show that forced marriages have jumped from 1,220 cases in 2015 to 1,428 in 2016. Most were under the age of 15 and 140 had learning disabilities. August is the ‘critical’ month. Parents take their teenage daughters abroad on holiday then trick them into forced marriages. The government's Forced Marriage Unit (FMU) says it has received 770 calls for help this year from victims. Since 2009 schools have been helped to identify signs of forced marriages. However the numbers are still rising which indicates that some schools, communities and councils are failing to act on suspicions or evidence of abuse. Pray for schools and communities to play a greater preventative role. The UK’s Forced Marriage Unit said that because of the nature of forced marriage a number of them are not reported so the true scale of the problem remains unclear.  See also: http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/child-bride-speaks-out-forced-13429971

‘A’ woke up to the sounds of someone burning her house down. She grabbed her baby son and escaped. This was one of many hardships she had faced since deciding to leave her tribe’s traditional religion and follow Jesus. Laotians believe Christianity is an American religion. When someone in the community becomes a Christian, the community worries that the spirits they worship will be offended, and that the community might also suffer ill-effects as a result. ‘K’, his wife and daughter were recently evicted from their home by their eldest son. ‘K’ is a Christian leader of a church that he planted years ago after moving to the unreached region as a missionary.  ‘K’s son despises his parents’ faith and drank and used drugs. He demanded his inheritance from his father and said that the house should be his portion.  K and his family now live under a roof in a rice field.

The EU has taken legal action against the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland for not complying with the order to accept migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The infringement procedure authorises the EU to sue members breaching their obligations with economic sanctions. Across the EU only 20,000 migrants have been relocated to date. Of the 28 EU members, only Malta has accepted its full quota. However, many so-called asylum-seekers have refused to relocate in central and eastern Europe, where economic benefits are less than in France, Germany or Scandinavia. Also hundreds who were relocated to Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have fled to richer countries.

Tim Farron’s resignation from UK politics indicates that it is increasingly difficult for a practising Christian to remain leader of a political party. But even more sadly, the church in the west is falling victim to the same anti-Christian pressures. Instead of being salt and light in a fallen world, boldly proclaiming scripture truths, the Church is increasingly drawing upon the beliefs and ways of the world for moral direction on issues like abortion, marriage and multi-faith services. As the world becomes more corrupt, we can pray for Christian leaders to remain faithful to God’s Word. Pray also for all Christians in the limelight. May the example of American Christian athlete Jaelene Hinkle, who jeopardised her career by choosing not to play in games when her team supported ‘LGBT Pride’, encourage those facing modern-day pressures to compromise their faith in the workplace. May God empower all Christians facing subtle attacks on lifestyles and value systems.