Record Number of Americans Believe Government Too Powerful

We are indeed seeking a heavenly city. Therefore, knowing that we are not of this world, knowing that our citizenship is in heaven, knowing that the Gospel is our main focus, and knowing that our redemption is drawing nearer, should we then lie down like dead dogs and condone the injustices, condone the wickedness, and condone the direction our country is headed in because we have a future heavenly city?

Doesn't make sense to me. Maybe I am wrong. But I certainly didn't see Abraham doing that. I didn't see Elijah doing that. I didn't see Shadrach, Meshach, Abed-Nego, or Daniel doing that. I didn't see Job doing that. If I have received grace, does that, then, nullify portions of the good character of those men? I don't think so.

So my question is this: Where exactly is the line between Observing the state of the world and its events and getting caught up in them? Where are the scriptures that make the first clause positive, while making the 2nd clause negative?

I know the Gospel is important--more than any message I bear, but my belief in Christ shapes my political beliefs. If that seems biased, well I guess I am biased toward Christ.

RE: ///Interesting that havok gives no NT examples.///

Jesus said ... "Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.
And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

of whom was Jesus speaking of this great faith ? : a man under authority, having soldiers under him : whom held governmental power to be able to say to men, Go, and they goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to his servant, Do this, and he doeth it."

Of this centurion Jesus says : ,.. " Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour."

I am not aware that Jesus ever tells the centurion (an officer in the Roman army) to stop being a centurion.

There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion (an officer in the Roman army) (a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews) of the band called the Italian band,

I am not aware of any evidence that Cornelius was told to stop being a centurion (an officer in the Roman army)

Hi bear

Bear wrote: ////The early Anabaptist saw the danger of theology rooted in the Old Testament to believers professing faith in Jesus. This is why much of their faith is grounded in the reality of truth as taught by Jesus and His disciples in the New Testament.
While the Reformers such as Calvin and Luther saw church and state as one, no different from their Catholic predecessors. The Anabaptist saw that the church was a spiritual reality with Jesus Christ as its head. They saw that the church was composed of people who had undergone the new birth. Evidence of that new birth being issued forth in a righteous life in Jesus.////

This is true and I agree, very good point.

Church and state do not mix.
Protasants and Catholics tried to christendom geographic locations, what a mess that created.

We certaintly all must agree that the Bible does not promote political obsession, nor the spreading of the gospel by means of governmental force,

But if we are honest with the Scriptures, than we must becareful that we do not pride ourselves above others with a position that has more traditional support than what it does Scriptural support.

I was given a book by a friend written by Dean Talor "change of allegiance" in that book Dean tells about being in the military in Berlin during the fall of the wall. Him and his wife started reading the Scriptures, they got to the "thou shall not kill" and they felt convicted to leave the military.
In the book Dean gives information for those whom are currently in the military and how to get out as a conscientious objector.
He makes a point in the book to make sure that you do not take just a noncombatant status because that is what they will offer, and if you agree to that, it is hard to get out.

But the inspired Scripture does not support that view.

The question is asked in Scripture of what a soldier should do, of which John the Baptist gives command : "Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely ; and be content with your wages."

John preached a straight and narrow message, but he never told the soldier's to stop being soldier's.

Edit add : John told the soldier's to be content with their wages and neither accuse any falsely, If we believe that God has of his Sovereignty inspired the KJV for the english speaking people, as what I do, than we must confess that, a Christian soldier should take a noncombatant status.
If however we believe that one translation is not above another, than John is only commanding the soldier's not to "take money from anyone by force", and would their by be indorseing the right of a soldier to use the sword in a lawfull way.

Lets becareful that our traditions do not cause us to use selective blindness toward certain scriptures.

RE: ////. There have been very few people that I have met who have not been shaped by their cultural and political background and bias.////

Their is no person who : "has not been shaped by their cultural and political background and bias"

John Knox believed more clearly than most, indeed, in the separation of Church and State, that they are not to be brought together, they are both independent, and they are both answerable to Christ. But he also believed that independence was not isolation, that the one should support the other; and he believed that the Church had a vital role in bringing before the leaders of the day the Bible’s teaching on moral, economic, social, defence matters. He argued strongly for people to get involved in lobbying, in arguing, in representing the case of the Scriptures in whatever forum they could, whether by letter, whether by standing for elections, whether by public meetings, by petitions, or whatever. He would say, "Get involved in politics”.

I think William Penn is an excelant example of a man whom reliezed and imbraced, That Gods kingdom is not of this world, and at the same time : he was very active and involved in promoting a political system of 'free and fair trials by jury, freedom of religion, freedom from unjust imprisonment and free elections.'

"Although Penn's authority over the colony was officially subject only to that of the king, through his Frame of Government he implemented a democratic system with full freedom of religion, fair trials, elected representatives of the people in power, and a separation of powers ”” again ideas that would later form the basis of the American constitution. The freedom of religion in Pennsylvania (complete freedom of religion for everybody who believed in God) brought not only English, Welsh, German and Dutch Quakers to the colony, but also Huguenots (French Protestants), Mennonites, Amish, and Lutherans from Catholic German states"

http://www.ushistory.org/penn/bio.htm

Hi bear

good disscussion, One that I wrestle with oft within myself, you bring up many good points.

Bear wrote : ///PP, I think Ann Hutchison and Roger Williams are two other examples to shed light on this discussion.
Bear///

Lets not miss sterotype my position, their is a Big difference in William Penns 'desire for a political system of 'free and fair trials by jury, freedom of religion, freedom from unjust imprisonment and free elections.'
with that of Calvin and the puritians usage of the sword inorder to conform people to Christendome.

Bear asked a good question : /// Where are New Testament examples found of Christians getting involved in government.///

Where in the New Testament is the Centerion or the soldier or any one else within the government asked or even led to step down from their position in order to be a Christian ?

The question is asked in Scripture by the Soldiers what they should do. here is what the NASB says that Johns answer was : "Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.”

It feels from many comments on these threads that some believe that they are more Spirtual and less fleshly than other born again believers because they doctrinaly believe that Christians should not be concerned with 'free and fair trials by jury, freedom of religion, freedom from unjust imprisonment and free elections.

are we more Spirtual and less fleshly than William Penn ?

The hypocricy that I have found myself in on this subject is that on the one hand it seems that we (I) think that we (I) are to Spirtual minded to vote on the other hand we are quick to complain and murmur when we think that our own like Ken Miller is being done wrong by our system.

I did not vote in the last two elections, and I was quick to judge those whom did vote as less Spirtual as to myself.

Hi appolus

John the Baptist was preparing the way, He would not have given permission for something that Jesus would soon after condem and he was not silent,
He instructed exactly what a soldier needed to do. and what he instructed is what has been inspired so that we know what to tell the Soldiers of our day to do.
He never told them to stop being Soldiers but he did tell them to be content with their wages, the wages of a soldier.

, Jesus specifically told the centurion of great Faith to 'Go thy way;'

appolus wrote : ///Good points Bear, not only Ann Hutchison but Mary Dyer. Many on this forum would not have survived in the colonies.///

I certaintly would not have survived in the colonies.

But thanks goes to God that God opened the door for William Penn to start writting against injustices and for religious freedoms from the cells of persecution.

And from Penns willingness to suffer for the Kingdom of God, The door was opened so that a democratic system with full freedom of religion, fair trials, elected representatives of the people in power, and a separation was established for colony opening away for English, Welsh, German and Dutch Quakers to the colony, but also Huguenots (French Protestants), Mennonites, Amish, and Lutherans from Catholic German states"

Hi appolus

appolus wrote ///I personally have not complained about Ken Miller proudpapa.///

I was not accusing you, I was typing that post before I had read your post, it was not a response to your post,

It mostly was an inconsistancy that I reliezed amoung my own way of thinking as I try to sort out my understanding on this issue, and I would figure that others might be in the same boat as I.

P.S. Never loose your smile appolus it manifest much joy and peace and Love of God, brother. (wounderful smile!)

///Brother, with all due respect, if that was the criteria on how we developed recognized a truth in Scripture, we would be all over the place. If you want to use that as your sole scriptural reference that condoned partaking in war and politics, we will have to agree to disagree. One final point, if we ate taking your scriptural proof literally then the soldier was told to do no violence.///

I think you have miss understood my position, (please read all my post) I do believe that Christian soldiers should 'do no violence'

I have to get to work but, appolus, I do apperciate much of what you write, I agree with alot of it and I disagree with some of it, but am always impressed with your maturity

Quote: The Apostles rejoiced when they were scourged for the sake of Jesus, they did not complain bitterly about the system that meted out the punishment nor did they try and change the laws so that they could avoid being punished for sharing their faith.

It would be foolish of us not engage with our governments, I have written to MP’s, MSP’s and the Prime minister of my nation and intend fully to keep going along this path. We are all citizens of a nation we must not look at the rights given by your nation as manmade rights "not of this world” but rather coming from God.

Look at Paul’s question: Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn't even been found guilty? The tribune responds, possibly sarcastically, I had to pay a big price for my citizenship. Paul responds simply, but I was born a citizen.

The declaration of citizenship has its desired effect: the military interrogators withdrew immediately. Paul, though still a prisoner, will be viewed differently from now on. In fact, alarm or fear grips the tribune as he realizes that he violated one of the basic rights of a Roman citizen when he put Paul in chains.

So we have been given "rights” we need use them just as Paul used his rights. We should engage and influence our nation and its leaders it would be foolish not to. There is great tribulation coming on this earth along with great judgments we must be ready and willing to help all and everyone and that includes our governments.

Christianity’s influence in the West set into motion the belief that man is accountable to God and that the law is the same regardless of status.

Edit spelling

Quote: Actually this subject has such tremendous real world application as so many Christians have been caught up in fighting for their rights in the political realm and have developed a real hatred for their "political enemies."

To the "weaker brothers" ones that feel hatred for "political enemies" I would encourage them to pray for there "political enemies" it might be hard but try as it will be good for the your soul.

Now I don’t know how things are kicking off in the US, but there is a street protest movement who’s membership numbers have increased from 25,000 people to 160,000 people since the beheading of the soldier in the UK and with every terrorist attack they grow with demonstrations taking place every weekend in different cities in the UK and it’s all based around opposing Islam with counter protests by Islamic’s and the Marxist’s, so I see the nation starting to simmer and people getting very angry.
However I have hope and I truly believe that God is allowing this unrest for a reason as he wants change and he wants to intervene but it will take prayer on our part.

But in the middle of this turmoil people are looking for an identity and there starting to say we are a "Christian country” it’s is truly shaking the people so I find an openness to speak about Christianity, things that I would have been mocked for in the past, people now listen. Prayer for the nation and the governing authorities is needed it is a better weapon and is more effective than writing to the governing authorities as at the end of the day they can’t change a nation.

Seems to me that Christ's command to go into all then world teaching men to observe (do) all that He had commanded by logical necessity would suggest that governmental systems created by men should promote justice, righteousness, and freedom. So when they are created, it would make sense to me to support, vote, participate in service, and do anything necessary to preserve them.

If I lived in a free country where I could come to embrace Jesus Christ without being killed for it, I would want my children and grandchildren to enjoy the same. Am I missing something?

The United States of America was a pretty good example of what a free country might look like. And that's why I didn't run away when I was called to fight in Vietnam, and why I made multiple trips to Washington and Sacramento to make a personal plea for better and more responsible government.

I know- didn't apparently work too well!

But making the effort to fight is, in my opinion, a godly course. He does not command me to win, just to fight. He will do the rest.

As a Christian, I asked my draft board for permission to register as a conscientious objector, and was granted that status. I just didn't want to kill anyone.

But I went into the jungle with everyone else, and the Vietcong didn't care about any of my personal convictions. One day, in a bitter firefight where several of my fellow soldiers had been hit, my platoon sergeant asked me to cover him as he crawled out into the line of fire to pull a wounded man back to safety.

Without hesitation I took that M-16 and slammed it to full auto as he made the daring rescue. Had a Vietcong soldier come into view I would have blasted him in an instant, and for several long minutes I held that gun ready to kill.

I didn't have to make that kill, and I thank God for that. But as the Bible says, "There is a time to heal and a time to kill." I now know what that is like, and the peace that God gives to those who are forced to face it.

Bottom line for me- I love freedom, I want it for my grandchildren, and in reality I am no longer a conscientious objector. I am not willing to live cowering in fear of evil men with deadly power. Some day that might get me killed, but I have faced that before.

Jesus would not have asked the disciples to pray "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it in heaven" if He didn't see it as a realistic goal and hope in the Father's heart.

Spiritual warfare. Sometimes it has a physical component.

Quote: A couple of things Sidewalk. The freedom of the Gospels has nothing to do with political or national freedom.

It does seem we will agree to disagree as it's wrong for us to seperate the two as no other religion, philosophy, teaching, nation, movement whatsoever has so changed the world for the better as Christianity has done. Christian influence on values, beliefs, and practices in Western culture are abundant and well ingrained into the society of today.

We must remind this generation today that is with folly that we cast away the Christians beliefs and laws and urge them to return back to the God that who so greatly blessed our nations.

I believe that all the calmity and the increasing calmity thats is coming on this earth will cause many to return to the God of our Fathers..

RE:///If you were to go to China or North Korea or Iran or Vietnam you would find thriving underground churches that's " life," the life of the Spirit of Christ in them, is not dependent upon Western democracy or what passes for freedom in the west.///

If you go to China or North Korea or Iran or Vietnam you would find those Spirit filled believers greatly Desiring to refuge to Western democracy.

Lets be apperciative and thankful to God for the religious freedoms that we are blessed with.

Kingdom Christians such as William Penn greatly influenced the religious freedoms that we are blessed with in the west, lets not forget Gods hand in it.

I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost; Christianity without Christ; forgiveness without repentance; salvation without regeneration; politics without God; and Heaven without Hell. - William Booth

Record Number of Americans Believe Government Too Powerful.

gov·ern.....verb

: to officially control and lead (a group of people) : to make decisions about laws, taxes, social programs, etc., for (a country, state, etc.)

: to control the way that (something) is done

: to control or guide the actions of (someone or something)

Quote: The Jesus that changed my world is not a religion, not a philosophy , not a teaching, not a nation nor a movement, the Jesus that changed me personally is a person. And it's the person of Jesus that came to change hearts, not governments. If you were to go to China or North Korea or Iran or Vietnam you would find thriving underground churches that's " life," the life of the Spirit of Christ in them, is not dependent upon Western democracy or what passes for freedom in the west.

I agree that Jesus changes peoples hearts, but the people are the nations, change the people hearts you change the nation. Eventually if the move of God continues in the nations you mention there will come a great change in the nation becuase the people will have changed.

We, as a royal priesthood are the ambassador of the Kindgom of God we should be reconciling the nations of the world to God.

I have struggled over the process of time to reconcile the God of the Old Testament with the God of the New Testament. The the Holy Scriptures teach that there is one God and that His nature never changes. That Nature is of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Therefore the sum of all Scripture reveals God.

In Psalm 2 we are given this insight...

10 Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son,[b] lest [c] He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When His wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

Now does this Scripture speak to government?

RE: //I agree that Jesus changes peoples hearts, but the people are the nations, change the people hearts you change the nation. Eventually if the move of God continues in the nations you mention there will come a great change in the nation becuase the people will have changed.//

well said

When ever a nation has an evil ruler, the entire nation (people) is punished, it was so in the Old Testament and it is that way today.

Something to consider is that It is easy to set in our (HVAC) homes and type on our computers and romanticise the life of induring persecution acting almost as though we are desirous of it.

Lets remember Jesus fled persecution up untill the time that God specifically instructed him to endure it. and than He said : "(if it be possible, let this cup pass from me):nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt."

When the early church was persecuted, Acts tells us that they all scattered.

When Paul was brought to trial, he fought hand and nail for his freedom.

when the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by to smite Paul on the mouth.

Paul said unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall:

and than Paul pointed out to him how he had commandended him to be smitten contrary to the law?

Persecution is not going to start in such a romanticised way though, They are first going to take our children and give them to child molestors. and this is going to happen sooner than later, because a great deal of Christians feel that they are to Spirtual to vote or write their representives.

Home Schooling and Godly child training are the first things to go.

I am thankful for the freedoms that God has blessed us with in the West, but those freedoms are being underminded at a radical pace.

The New Testament, the Early Chuch, Godly Men fled perscution, lets not over romanticise persecution or the lack of freedom. lets be thankful to God for the freedoms that we have, and relieze kingdom Christians such as Penn had a large part in influencing those freedoms .

Thank you Proudpapa for that striking assessment of freedom's mysterious price. I too find that the limited freedom I have at this moment a great benefit to myself and those with whom I am sharing my life journey.

The Christian souls in the slave nation of North Korea are not sipping a cool iced tea and chatting with one another this afternoon on their home computers. Probably none of them have ever had a warm shower.

We would certainly want more human blessing for them, and are actually obligated to seek it. Do we not wish to hear these words from Jesus in the not too distant future?

"I was hungry and you fed me, naked and you clothed me, in prison and you visited me!"

It goes way beyond a bullet point on the Wednesday night prayer card.

I can assure you those haunted-eyed nearly dead, lice infested prisoners in Hitler's camps were sure glad to see some dirty beat up GI's and their guns take down their cruel captors.

Of course as has been noted I know nothing of history.

Lets remember that their is an underground railroad from north korea to south korea. Yes God does Call men Specifically to be involved in that Work and to be willing to pay the price if caught, but many of the persecuted are very willing to get through that underground railroad .

Brother Bear, maybe God is calling you to leave the comforts of Arkansas and to work with the underground railroad from north korea to south korea.

I would be willing and I am sure many others on Si would be willing to both prayerfully and financially support you on such an endeavor

RE: ///Indeed brother, they did not form a well regulated militia and fight to take down a corrupt and evil government, nor did they fight when Israel was invaded. Thank you for clarifying the response of the early church to persecution. Fleeing and praying...............bro Frank///

Absolute agreement brother, and we do not need to form a well regulated militia and fight to take down a corrupt and evil government either, and William Penn did not believe in that either. But God did use Penn to influence the religious freedoms that the West is blessed with.

We are not in very much disagreement on this issue.

PS. add I also am against the political obsession that is plaguing the church today

ICC says Yes.

International Christian Concern :

"Relevant Legislation

One of the important ways that we can help Christians under oppression is through official legislation. Take a look below at current legislation that impacts religious freedom.

A great way to become involved is to contact your Senator or House Representative asking them to fight on behalf of the persecuted. When you call, mention these specific bills and resolutions, asking your Representative to support their passing on the House or Senate floor. You can also voice your concern about particular countries where Christians are persecuted, or of universal issues such as blasphemy laws or forced conversions.

Key Legislation:
”¢Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia (HR. 440 and S.1245) ”“ this bill was introduced by Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA) and gathered 80 cosponsors before it passed on the House this summer. Now the bill has been received in the Senate and awaits a final vote. If passed, the bill will establish a Special Envoy appointed by the President, who will operate within the State Department and will have the responsibility of monitoring and promoting religious freedom in the Middle East and South Central Asia. UPDATE: Senator Jim Webb of Virginia has placed a hold on this legislation, preventing it from going to the Senate floor for a vote. Please call Sen. Webb's office at (202) 224 4024 and urge him to release his hold on this important legislation.
”¢International Religious Freedom Act Amendments of 2011 (H.R.1856) ”“ this bill was introduced by Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA) and currently has 38 cosponsors, and still awaits final vote from the House. If passed, this bill will accomplish several things that will amplify the importance of promoting religious freedom within U.S. agencies such as the Department of State, Department of Defense, and the Department of Homeland Security.
”¢Listing of Vietnam as a "Country of Particular Concern” (H.RES.16) ”“ this resolution, introduced by Representative Ed Royce (R-CA) and cosponsored by 17 other House members, calls upon the State Department to re-designate Vietnam as a Country of Particular Concern, a designation given by the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom, for Vietnam’s severe violations of the religious freedom of its citizens."

http://www.persecution.org/advocacy/relevant-legislation/

Success Stories

Does advocacy work? Here's just a few of our recent success stories:

35 Christians Released from Prison in Saudi Arabia

On December 15th, 2011, 35 men and women were arrested at a private prayer service in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. All 35 were Christians and Ethiopian citizens. During their interrogation, some of the men were physically beaten and the women were forced to undergo strip searches. Local authorities openly accused them of being "unbelievers" and friends of American and Israel. ICC broke the news a few days later and in January held a conference call with the U.S. State Department, urging the U.S. to take action on the case.

After four months and two ICC sponsored protests outside of the Saudi embassy in D.C., we took an underground pastor who was familiar with the prisoners to Capitol Hill and held twenty-four meetings with Congressional offices in the House and Senate. This resulted in calls directly from our nations leaders to the Saudi ambassador as well as Saudi officials being called to House offices to explain the arrest in person. We soon heard from our sources in Jeddah that orders had "come from above" for the release of the prisoners, who had never been officially charged with any crime.

It appears that local authorities were angered by the order to release the prisoners and delayed as long as possible, but finally, in early August, 2012, all 35 prisoners were released and sent back to Ethiopia after almost 8 months of detention.They reported that pressure from the outside had been instrumental in ending their stay in a Saudi jail.

Justice for Christians in Ethiopia

In the first week of March, 2011, Muslim militants killed one Christian, burned down 69 churches and several Christian homes in Asendabo, Ethiopia. More than 10,000 were displaced in the violence due to the severe losses and fear of continued attacks. ICC was the first organization to break the news about the attacks and draw international attention to the impunity of perpetrators after the violence took place. ICC collected over 1,100 signatures from 50 nations worldwide, and worked with 14 offices of US federal representatives, commissions, and the State Department calling for known perpetrators to be judged in Ethiopian courts. This June, ICC was the first to learn that 579 Ethiopians were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 3 months to 18 years for taking part in the violence. An additional 107 individuals are accused of terrorism and the public prosecutors have brought charges against them in federal court. Eight individuals suspected to be among the masterminds of the violence are still at large, but Ethiopian authorities are searching for them.

Christians Released from Prison in Ethiopia

In March, 2011, ICC used government contacts to advocate on behalf of a Christian brother imprisoned in Ethiopia. After a few weeks he was released and cited ICC advocacy efforts as the reason for the release.

Then, in October, 2011, ICC discovered that three Ethiopian Christians had been imprisoned for preaching the gospel to Muslims. An employee of ICC contacted the prison officials responsible for the arrests and warned them that their detention of the Christian men for preaching was not only illegal, but that it had caught the attention of the outside world. Within days all three Christians were released from prison.

Nigerian Advocacy Efforts Picked up in Nigerian Press

We brought a church leader from Nigeria to the US to highlight the tragic slaughter of Christians that is happening in that country. ICC organized two weeks of meetings with Senators, Congressmen, State Department officials, NGO's, and local churches. These meetings resulted in two Congressional inquiries to the Nigerian legislature expressing alarm at the situation. The Nigerian press picked up on this and added further to ongoing actions enforcing justice for those who have failed to protect the hundreds of Christian victims.

Plight of Moroccan Christians Highlighted for First Time

In 2010, we brought a high-profile expelled Moroccan to the US to highlight the recent deportations of Christians and the underlying persecution of Moroccan Christians. He met with Congressmen who are leading an effort to hold the government of Morocco accountable for persecution. Because of his visit the plight of local Moroccan Christian's was highlighted for the first time in an official hearing and he was able to submit testimony for the Congressional Record.

In June, 2010, ICC brought attention for the first time to the case of Jamaa Ait Bakrim, a Moroccan Christian who has been in prison for his faith since 2005. This has led to other organizations picking up the story; attention and pressure continue to build for his release. Jamaa was also the first prisoner published on our new Prisoner Focus blog.

Eight Months of Work Pay Off
Imprisoned Afghan Believer Freed

Said Musa, a convert to Christianity, was imprisoned in Afghanistan in May of 2010. Within weeks, ICC visited Afghanistan to obtain an overview of the case and work on a strategy to get him released. Since then, we have been working steadily behind the scenes on his case with Senators, Congressional Representatives, the State Deptartment, and the press.

One of our early successes was to get him moved to a safer prison after we received a smuggled letter from him detailing his physical and sexual abuse. Upon receipt of the letter, we immediately met with a government agency to alert them to the case. We told them we would go public with the case unless he was moved to a safer cell. Since this kind of case is highly inflammatory, they didn’t want it going public.

The day after our meeting, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul immediately sent representatives to meet with Said in prison to ascertain his status. Three days after the meeting, he was moved to a safer cell away from Taliban prisoners. Following that initial meeting, we made numerous visits and calls to lawmakers and government officials to move the case forward.

Over the course of several months, ICC’s president and regional manager gave countless interviews to the highest profile newsmakers, including Fox News, Wall Street Journal, Christianity Today, World Magazine, the AP, and the Washington Post, to name a few. All the hard work paid off in late February when we received news that he had been released. We had the honor to be the first to tell the world that he was free and in safety.

ICC Petitions Around the World

ICC petitions have been translated into Arabic and French, picked up by human rights organizations, and have supporters from around the world including many persecuted countries.

http://www.persecution.org/advocacy/success-stories/

Job 34
21"For His eyes are on the ways of man,
And He sees all his steps.
22 There is no darkness nor shadow of death
Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.
23 For He need not further consider a man,
That he should go before God in judgment.
24 He breaks in pieces mighty men without inquiry,
And sets others in their place.
25 Therefore He knows their works;
He overthrows them in the night,
And they are crushed.
26 He strikes them as wicked men
In the open sight of others,
27 Because they turned back from Him,
And would not consider any of His ways,
28 So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him;
For He hears the cry of the afflicted.
29 When He gives quietness, who then can make trouble?
And when He hides His face, who then can see Him,
Whether it is against a nation or a man alone?””
30 That the hypocrite should not reign,
Lest the people be ensnared.

Does this apply to this generation?

Daniel 2:
20 Daniel answered and said:

"Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
For wisdom and might are His.
21 And He changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and raises up kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding.
22 He reveals deep and secret things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And light dwells with Him.

23 "I thank You and praise You,
O God of my fathers;
You have given me wisdom and might,
And have now made known to me what we asked of You,
For You have made known to us the king’s demand.”

Does this Scripture apply to this generation?