mardi 12 décembre 2017

Global Church/David C Cook

Every year in the run-up to Christmas I get a few leaflets from local churches I've never heard of. Yesterday I got one from the Global Church ("a Church family where you can belong before you believe"), inviting me to a festive celebration to be held at a York hotel.

Other than proclaiming that:

Quote:

Our Churches will always be Christ Centred, Bible Based, Spirit Led. We will always be on a mission to make disciples who Love God, Love Life & Love People, and we will continually plant churches that are Real, Relevant and Robust, aiming to touch communities from Here to Everywhere.
http://ift.tt/2kpvi3K
...GC's website is curiously unhelpful about where it stands in regard to the reality and relevance bit. However, a quick Google revealed that GC is associated with American publisher David C Cook of Action Bible fame (the one with pictures by DC/Marvel artist Sergio Cariello).

It turns out that a large part of GC's work consists of evangelizing children. I cringed when I read this:

Quote:

Thorani Found Jesus
Her name is Thorani. She is 13 years old, studies in 8th standard and comes from a poor Hindu family...Her Grandmother is a staunch Hindu and taught Thorani Hindu prayers and rituals to worship different gods and goddesses. Her grandmother’s house had several idols and there were many Hindu temples in the neighborhood. Thorani followed in the footsteps of her grandmother.

About three years ago, Thorani learned about the Peter’s Club, where David C Cook’s Life on Life curriculum was being taught. Out of curiosity, she attended one lesson and she came back for the second and the third lesson. She fell in love with the stories from the Bible. The lesson God Knows Everything was the turning point in her life. That is when she met Jesus. She found a living God who listens, speaks, cares and loves unlike the idols she was worshipping.

Talking with Anand, one of the programme coordinators, Thorani said,
I did not know that Jesus knew me before I was born. He knew how I lived my life…how my mother left me…my brother died…He knows my work, my worries, my behavior. He also knows how alone I felt. How much I missed the love of my father and mother… Jesus knows my prayer before I even pray.

He is my God and my Savior. I am looking forward to being baptized. I have decided to serve Him.

I still go to temples with my grandmother because she wants to pray to them. I don’t pray to idols anymore. I share the Good News with my Grandmother but she doesn’t believe in that. I hope and pray she too will find Jesus.
http://ift.tt/2jSqBzL
One can only hope that Thorani's conversion won't lead to serious problems with her grandmother, who seems to be her only caregiver, and her neighbours. More indifference to the potentially harmful effects of religion causing problems within families and communities:

Quote:

Did you know sixty percent of kids who attend church in Cuba don’t come with family?
Young people in Cuba are hungry to know God and His Word.
That’s why pastors in Cuba are eager for ministry resources that address the whole child—spiritual growth, character development, and life skills. Most children’s ministry resources don’t provide this combination. But David C Cook’s Life on Life curriculum does, built on the solid foundation of God’s Word.
http://ift.tt/2koYPKF
More of the same, this time concerning a children's club run by GC:

Quote:

Sindhu comes from a home where Hindu gods are feared. Her father was struck by tuberculosis; her mother supports the family by picking through trash in a massive garbage dump in the midst of their neighborhood. They believe their suffering has been determined by karma, a Hindu belief that you suffer for the bad deeds committed in a previous life...

Unfortunately, Hindu extremists control the area where Sindhu lives and spread information about the Club. One day, neighbors complained that children were being converted to Christianity. As a result, Sindhu’s mother stopped her from going to the Club. When Auntie Sunitha didn’t see Sindhu for a couple of weeks, she became concerned and went to visit the mother. The visit, however, was not welcome. Sindhu’s mother launched a verbal attack that stopped the Club leader in her tracks...

Young Sindhu finds much comfort in knowing God. She understands how much He loves her, and she believes He rescues those who love Him. Sindhu trusts God for all her needs. She makes a point of collecting the neighborhood children to attend the Club. Her faith is infectious.

It was this faith that impacted her family. One morning soon after the incident between her mother and Auntie Sunitha, Sindhu’s uncle called to say he was in desperate need of money. His daughter was born prematurely and the hospital would not treat her unless they came up with a large sum. Sindhu told her uncle not to worry. She was praying to Jesus for a solution. Her mother laughed as Sindhu knelt and prayed. Then her mother went house to house begging for money.

The next morning her uncle called again. He asked to speak to Sindhu. He told her that Jesus had heard her prayer and they received the money. The baby was safe.

The incident brought about a great change in Sindhu’s mother. She allowed her daughter to attend the Club again. She also requested that Sunitha pray for her husband’s battle with tuberculosis. Auntie Sunitha introduced them to a church. The family began to attend regularly.
http://ift.tt/2jRtmBi
Oh, for pete's sake. Does it take a genius to work out that "miraculous" money came from GC? Of course, GC has to get 'em young to save their immortal souls:

Quote:

Roughly 6 billion people around the world are facing an eternity without God*.
* The Global Religious Landscape, Pew Research, retrieved April 19, 2017 from http://ift.tt/2kqS7DZ. Indicates approximately 30% of the world’s 6.9 billion people are Christian.
http://ift.tt/2jSqCDP
Thanks for the invitation, GC, but I think I'll give your Christmas do a miss.


via International Skeptics Forum http://ift.tt/2C8rRX1

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