Remember Human Rights!

Today is the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights! Let us remember those around the world who are suffering and may we continue to encourage leaders and the United Nations to stand up for human rights!
With great power comes great responsibility...

Petition To Release Imprisoned Chinese Christian

Voice Of The Martyrs and China Aid are petitioning for Chinese Christians who were arrested before the Olympics to be released. One such person is Pastor Zhang "Bike" Mingxuan and his wife and coworker. They ask for help:

On August 6, just two days before the Olympics began, Pastor Zhang "Bike" Mingxuan was arrested, along with his wife and a coworker. In response to these arrests, The Voice of the Martyrs and China Aid Association have launched a petition drive to free these three Christians and to let the Chinese government know that the world is aware that these Christians are being detained.

The petition letter reads:

To the Attention of: Chinese Ambassador Mr. Zhou Wenzhong

Dear Sir:
We are aware that you have detained Pastor Zhang "Bike" Mingxuan, President of the Chinese House Church Alliance, along with his wife and fellow pastor, Wu Jianghe. These three individuals were on their way to Beijing from Hebei province to pick up medicine for Pastor Bike's wife, who is ill, when Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers detained them on August 6, 2008. All three are being held at an undisclosed location. We the undersigned are very concerned about their welfare and why they are being detained as this act of arbitrary detention itself is in violation of Chinese law. We are praying for the leaders of China and formally request that you release these three Christians immediately. Thank you for your kind attention to this matter.

Anyone who has read the book The Heavenly Man knows, Christians in China are severely tortured in prisons and have no trials or representation. The persecuted Christians consider it an honor to suffer in such inhumane ways- ways few Americans want to recognize.


And now that the Olympics are finally over, we can talk about China in a truthful way. The Washington Post reports: Power-Sector Emissions Of China To Top U.S.

The carbon emissions of China's electric power sector will jump by about a third this year and surpass the total emissions of the U.S. electric power industry for the first time, according to a report by the Center for Global Development, a Washington-based think tank....

The report highlights the challenge of curbing greenhouse gases in time to slow climate change while maintaining world economic growth. China and India have made growth their top priority to raise living standards and many international climate negotiators don't expect meaningful limits on carbon emissions from those countries until after 2020....

Paul Ting, a veteran oil analyst now specializing on China, said that China relies on coal for three-quarters of its energy consumption. "They cannot get away from coal," he said....

If all of the power plants being planned for China and the United States are built, China's power-related emissions would exceed those of the United States by 40 percent, the Center for Global Development report said.

$8.8 Billion In Religious Donations To The Developing World

Aid and relief is one of American Christianity's strongest outward signs of Christ-like actions. The immense amount of aid sent to developing nations by Christians, not to mention those who service in medicine, care, missions, and relief efforts, shows that American Christianity can follow the tenants of the Christ who served the poor. I would say that countries like those in Africa and some of Asia should not be labeled as only "poor" but as countries who suffer great injustice. Such famine, poverty, and lack of education are the result of corrupt choices, especially in areas like Sudan, North Korea, Myanmar, and the Congo.

These numbers prove that American Christians are aware of such atrocities worldwide and want to support causes to alleviate the suffering. We learn today that Christian relief has hit $8.8 billion!!! This is a news story worth coverage but completely lost in the media. The Christian Post explains,

The amount of $8.8 billion is equivalent to 37 percent of all U.S. government aid, pointed out the Hudson Institute’s Center for Global Prosperity (CGP) in its 2008 Index of Global Philanthropy. Previously, the religious giving for 2005 was reported at $5.4 billion based on limited available data...
More than half of U.S. congregations gave an average of $10,500 to U.S. organizations for relief and development in poor countries. And over 30 percent made donations directly to programs in developing countries as well as volunteering for short-term missions or service trips, according to the survey.

As the Church in America begins to see more and more suffering worldwide these numbers will continue to expand. Americans are learning the vast sufferings of those oppressed by injustice in lesser developed countries.

I am excited to see these numbers grow because it shows the world that Christianity is a force based on God's love, not an exclusive, uninformed clique. For an atheist to say that Christianity does more harm than good in the world is just grievously wrong. Christianity, unlike any other religion, is morally oriented around a commission against injustice and based on equality. I'm not talking about 'let's all just get along and leave each other alone' or 'you do what you want, I'll do what I want.' It's more like, "If you aren't treated fairly or you are suffering or starving I have a real problem with that and I have to look at my own responsibility in that."