The Muslim Who Died For Mosul’s Christians And Other Good Samaritan Stories

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Pastor Foley

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I suspect that were Jesus to reprise the parable of the Good Samaritan today, he might tell it as the parable of the Good Muslim.

The Muslim who gave up his life for Mosul’s Christians
He refused to keep silent about the violence agaist Mosul’s Christians  who are forced to choose between converting to the Muslim faith, paying the jizyah (the Islamic tax for non-Muslims) or fleeing. Professor Mahmoud Al ‘Asali, a law professor who lectures on pedagogy at the University of Mosul, had the courage to make a stand against this brutal duress which he believes go against the Muslim commandments. But he paid for this gesture with his life: he was killed by ISIS militants in Mosul [on July 20].

The article goes on to detail that other Muslims in Mosul

…have launched the “I am Iraqi, I am Christian” campaign in response to the letter N’s written on the walls of Christian homes in Mosul. [On July 20] some of them turned up outside the Chaldean Church of St. George in Baghdad, with a banner displaying the slogan and posted a picture on Facebook.

Another article shows pictures of Muslims in Mosul holding up various signs in support of Christians, including one that reads, Christians: Apostles of Peace and Love.

Meanwhile, in Garissa, Kenya, the site of the gruesome massacre of Christian university students by El Shabab militants,

In a show of solidarity with their Christian neighbors, the Kenyan Muslim community in the Nairobi area took to the streets in protest against terrorism in their name. “We want to condemn the attack and urge the government to take security seriously and take actions against terrorist suspects,” said Ishmael Abdul. “We’ll not sit and see terrorists divide this country.”

Re-telling the Good Samaritan parable as the story of the Good Muslim does not imply that Islam is a religion of peace any more than Jesus implied that Samaritanism was a vibrant and misunderstood faith.

It does imply, however, that human beings are not canisters into which particular religions or ideologies are poured and labels affixed. Rarely are such helpful, or accurate.

However, Jesus did note in the Good Samaritan parable one ideological label which held particular interest for him:

Neighbor.

Posted in ISIS, Visiting and Remembering, Works of Mercy | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sharing The Gospel In Her North Korean Hometown, For The First Time In Seven Years

Posted on April 23, 2015 by tdillmuth

Logo 071414Many well-meaning Westerners have traveled to North Korea for purposes related to teaching, sightseeing or even evangelism.  We are always very purposeful in telling people, in no uncertain terms, to not visit North Korea.

Our reasoning relates, not to the danger, but to the uniformed strategy that many Westerners employ.  For example, if you are going for tourism than you are doing nothing more than supporting an evil regime with your money and seeing a part of North Korea that the government wants you to see.  If like some dedicated Christians, you are entering into NK for evangelism, than you are ignoring the faithful witness of the NK underground church who is already doing the work of Christ in NK.  These underground Christians are men and women who not only know the risks, but they also know the culture, the language and the best ways to reach their brothers and sisters in NK.

One example of this is our NK sister who recently visited her hometown for the first time in seven years.  Please read her own update on her visit . . .

I was so happy to meet with my relatives and friends there and share the love of God with them. Some people were monitoring my behavior and they kept watching me. I had to be careful to share the gospel directly with my relatives and friends. However, I kept trying to share the love of God with my neighbors.

There is no sufficient electricity supply to NK people, so many NK people are using solar energy. In a nearby town, there are no trees, firewood or plants, so NK people need to work for four-five hours to get firewood and sell it.

Two years ago, one of my relatives saw balloons from SK. He saw a Bible and rice as well. It had fallen down on the mountain, so he picked up the Bible and rice.

My mother is an underground Christian, although she could not share the Gospel with her neighbors directly, but whenever she had a chance to share food and help others, then she would pray for them and prepare food as well. Early every morning, before making a fire in the furnace, she reads the Bible and then she hides it secretly near the furnace. Before she goes to sleep, she hides the Bible inside the furnace. By the grace of God, neighbors in her hometown rely on my mother and she always prays for them in her heart.

God is not only working through things like balloon launches, but also through NK Christians . . . like the woman who reads her Bible and hides it by the furnace, and like her daughter who is willing to evangelize despite the fact that she was being carefully monitored.

Stories like these remind us of a God who is making himself known in some of the most difficult places around the world.  We can certainly be called to be a part of this work, but God is not asking us to do this apart from what he has already established.

In the case of North Korea, God has established a vibrant underground church with Christians who are faithfully and strategically sharing the Gospel with their friends and family members.

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What Is The Bible? Here’s How We Explain It In Our New North Korean/English Parallel Version

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Pastor Foley

Logo 071414North Koreans have no concepts of a spiritual world, of sin and forgiveness, of prayer, or of a transcendent, eternal deity. (Even when Kim Il Sung is worshiped, he is not mistaken for a transcendent, eternal deity but rather is revered Confucian-style as the great ancestor of the North Korean people.)

So as we are preparing our two new Bibles for publication–one, a North Korean study Bible and the other, a North Korean/English Parallel study Bible–we experienced again the same great challenge we experience each time we publish a North Korean Bible: How to describe the Bible in a single page, in a way they can understand, in a way that says everything that needs to be said.

Here’s what Dr. Foley and I wrote. We used the Nicene Creed as our guide for “everything that needs to be said,” and we used our experience with North Koreans, coupled with a whole lot of prayer, to write in a way they can understand.

Greetings to the Reader.

This book is the most widely read book in history. It has been read by people in every country of the world. It is loved by billions of people because it tells the good news about the one true God, who is a good and loving and all powerful God who rules over the whole universe.

This news did not originate in Korea or America or in any country on earth, though it has been announced in every country and is being sent to all people. As you will read in the beginning of this book, God created the heavens and the earth. He remains active in every country on earth to this day, including North Korea. He creates each one of us in love, including you. Because of his love, he is even now setting right every wrong that has been committed by every human being, including us.

As you will also read in the book, he has accomplished this by being born on earth as a man even while he continued to rule from heaven. This man, Jesus Christ, showed us the way to God and how we should live our lives. He was rejected by those to whom he came, and they killed him. But he was raised from the dead, forgave those who turned against him, and ascended into heaven. He will soon return to end history. He will rescue those who trust him but also punish those who have rejected his forgiveness. Until his return, his spirit is present with us on earth, willing to live inside all of us who will receive him in order to guide us back to God.

This book will tell you the good news of how to invite the one true God to live inside you so that you may be made ready for his soon return. Just as Jesus Christ died and was raised again, those in whom God’s spirit lives will also be raised from the dead and given power to overcome evil. Please read this book to learn how.

The proof of God’s love is that he has used all of the circumstances of your life to bring you to the point where you now hold this good news in your own hands, in your own language. We encourage you not to set aside this book. The purpose and destiny of your life, as well as the meaning of everything you have so far experienced, is contained within.

Warmly in Christ,
The Rev. Dr. Eric Foley and Dr. Hyun Sook Foley

 

Now, turn yourself to this task: What would you write if you were printing a Bible and sending it to North Koreans?

If you’re interested in learning more about our new North Korean/English Parallel Bible or our North Korean study Bible, please contact Pastor Tim at [email protected].

Posted in North Korea, Proclaiming The Gospel, Searching the Scriptures | Tagged , | 15 Comments