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Cultos

AS MULHERES NÃO FORAM COADJUVANTES

 

Isael de Araújo lembra como a mulher foi importante na construção da AD

Por: Celso de Carvalho – Redação Creio

    Nesta quinta-feira, dia 08, quando se comemora o Dia Internacional da Mulher, começa-se a refletir sobre o papel da mulher no crescimento dos ministérios. No Caso da Assembleia de Deus, entidade mais conservadora quando o assunto é ordenação feminina, o escritor Isael de Araújo, autor do livro ‘100 mulheres que fizeram a história da Assembleia de Deus’, lembra que a mulher não foi coadjuvante na organização da denominação considerada a maior do país.

Segundo o autor a obra foi escrita com o objetivo de mostrar que as Assembleias de Deus chegaram aos 100 anos não somente com o trabalho dos homens. “Talvez, devido a não ordenação feminina, parece que as mulheres tiveram um papel coadjuvante na história pioneira das Assembleias de Deus. Mas, a realidade é outra como pode se comprovar por meio da leitura das 100 biografias.” Ele lembra que várias histórias chamaram atenção no livro publicado pela Casa Publicadora das Assembleias de Deus (CPAD). “Tenho um sentimento todo especial com as histórias das primeiras missionárias suecas solteiras que vieram trabalhar em nosso país na década de 20 e 30. Imagino como teve ter sido tão difícil para elas atuarem na obra do Senhor. Mas, a história predileta é a da Frida Vingren, seus talentos e dons superavam até aos dos homens suecos missionários seus contemporâneos. Muitas outras mulheres poderiam ser incluídas, mas tinha que fechar com 100.”

Para o autor e pesquisador as mulheres não foram coadjuvantes. Ele lembra que elas estiveram e estão presentes em quase todas as atividades das igrejas: abertura de trabalhos, oração, evangelização, missões, assistência social, ensino, música e até mesmo na direção de congregações.

Categorias
Cultos

US Should be World’s ‘Guiding Light’ for Religious Freedom, Says Open Doors

 

‘Obama has biggest pulpit in the world,’ Says Lindsay Vessey

 

  • Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani with his wife, Fatema Pasindedih, and his two sons,

    (Photo: American Center for Law and Justice)

    Christian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani with his wife, Fatema Pasindedih, and his two sons, Daniel, age 9, and Yoel, age 7.

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By Katherine Weber , Christian Post Reporter

March 3, 2012|7:51 am

The past few weeks have shown a great, unified increase in support for Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who has been imprisoned in Iran since Oct. 2009 for his Christian faith. Pressure from the global community has been credited with preventing Iran from carrying out his death sentence, but is it up to the United States to do more?

According to Lindsay Vessey, advocacy director for religious persecution watchdog Open Doors USA, all international persecution cases should receive as much attention as Nadarkhani’s has. The United States has shown great resolve in helping Nadarkhani’s plight, and Vessey believes that the U.S. should be the world’s guiding light in defending religious liberties.

This is one of the reasons why Open Doors USA has created the Presidential Pledge for Religious Freedom, written several months ago in preparation for the upcoming 2012 presidential elections.

The pledge was co-authored by Open Doors USA and Tom Farr, religious scholar and professor at Georgetown University.

According to the pledge’s official website, the purpose of the document is to "protect religious freedom in full for all Americans, and will advance international religious freedom as part of American foreign policy."

Social conservative Rick Santorum is the only GOP candidate to have signed the pledge. Open Doors USA does not endorse any specific candidate; rather, the purpose of the pledge is to let voters know where their presidential candidates stand on religious freedom.

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According to Vessey, one of the main reasons the pledge was created was to improve the United States’ protection of international religious freedom, as exemplified in the aid to Pastor Nadarkhani.

Recently, the Western media was informed that Iranian courts may have issued an execution order for Nadarkhani, who was imprisoned in Oct. 2009 and charged with apostasy and attempting to evangelize Muslims.

Vessey contends that "in some regards, the U.S. is far beyond other countries in our attention to religious freedom," pointing to the passing of the International Religious Freedom Act in 1998.

"In that regard, we made it a formal part of our foreign policy. But there are a lot of things with the creation of those two offices that haven’t been done," Vessey told The Christian Post.

"I think there’s a lot of room for improvement … We see [religious freedom] taking a backseat to a lot of other issues," Vessey contended.

Critics argue that religious liberty is losing its backing in the U.S. For example, this past year the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom lost one-third of its funding.

Vessey believes it is especially important for the U.S. to take the lead in protecting religious freedom, especially in the case of Youcef Nadarkhani.

Critics agree that international pressure has helped keep Nadarkhani alive. Shortly after his possible execution order was announced, the White House and U.S. Department of State both made announcements condemning Iran for its violation of human rights.

"I think the president of the United States has the biggest pulpit in the world to speak out on human rights and religious freedom issues," Vessey emphasized.

"When we don’t use that, it sends a message to other countries’ government that it’s just not a priority, that we don’t care that much about the issue," she added.

Although Vessey believes that international pressure has helped keep Nadarkhani alive, she feels his case is one among many that has actually received international attention.

"This is one case in thousands that actually made the headlines," Vessey pointed out.

"For his sake we are grateful that it did make the headlines," she said, "but there are so many more cases and actually other countries where religious freedom is severely violated and the international community is practically ignoring it."

Categorias
Cultos

Estalla un coche bomba en una iglesia evangélica de Nigeria

En Jos

 

Estalla un coche bomba en una iglesia evangélica de Nigeria

Un terrorista suicida detonó un coche bomba, matando al menos tres personas e hiriendo a varias decenas.

26 DE FEBRERO DE 2012, NIGERIA

Al menos tres personas murieron este 26 de febrero en un ataque suicida contra un templo de la Iglesia de Cristo, en la ciudad de Jos, en el centro de Nigeria, donde se celebraba un servicio religioso.

  La explosión se produjo en la sede de la Iglesia de Cristo  en Nigeria, una de las grandes iglesias evangélicas del país. El momento que eligieron los terroristas fue durante el servicio religioso matutino.

  Un residente de esa localidad explicó que el terrorista suicida detonó el coche bomba en el que iba tras acceder a las instalaciones de la iglesia, causando numerosos muertos (tres al menos) y decenas de heridos (38 en una primera estimación) . Los servicios de emergencia y de la Cruz Roja evacuaron a los muertos y heridos, mientras que la Policía acordonaba la zona.

AUTORÍA: ¿BOKO HARAM?

  Ningún grupo se ha atribuido hasta el momento el atentado, aunque el ataque lleva la marca de la secta islamista Boko Haram, que ha intensificado sus acciones tras la detención de un buen número de sus miembros en las últimas semanas.

  La comunidad cristiana de Jos, capital del estado de Platau, en el centro de Nigeria, ha sido atacada por los radicales islamistas en numerosas ocasiones; entre ellas, en la jornada de Navidad de 2011.

  El atentado se produce apenas 48 horas después de que los radicales islámicos atacaran una prisión, un mercado y una comisaria de Gombe, capital del estado norteño del mismo nombre, causando al menos 12 muertos.

  Boko Haram, cuyo nombre significa en lengua local "la educación no islámica es pecado", lucha supuestamente por instaurar la ley islámica ("sharia") en el norte de Nigeria, de mayoría musulmana, mientras que el sur del país es predominantemente cristiano.

  Con más de 150 millones de habitantes integrados en más de 200 grupos tribales, Nigeria, el país más poblado de África, sufre múltiples tensiones por sus profundas diferencias políticas, religiosas y territoriales.

Fuentes: Reuters AP

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