World Scene: July 19, 1993

EVANGELISM

First Crusade Held in Mongolia

The evangelism window of opportunity in Mongolia (CT, May 17, 1993, p. 90) may be shutting faster than expected.

The country, which had an estimated half-dozen Christians three years ago, now has nearly 2,000, thanks in large part to missionary groups being allowed inside for the first time.

San Antonio evangelist Sammy Tippit of God’s Love in Action Ministries led the country’s first outdoor crusade June 16–24. Tippit decided to go, even though he learned beforehand that two of the four buildings housing churches in the capital city of Ulan Bator had been closed because of Buddhist pressure on the government.

Tippit told CT from Mongolia that the two churches have temporarily relocated to new meeting places.

Political tensions and division within the Christian community led to a lower than expected turnout at the crusade, according to Tippit. Around 600 people attended nightly, with total commitments to Christ numbering 300.

“It’s an infant church, just like in the Book of Acts,” Tippit says. “There are tensions, but the church is growing.”

PEOPLE AND EVENTS

Briefly Noted

The Messianic Times, based in Toronto, has become the first Christian newspaper to be distributed in Russia in 70 years. Zev Isaacs, 27-year-old publisher of the three-year-old quarterly tabloid, helped distribute 25,000 Russian-language copies of the newspaper in a May visit to St. Petersburg. Isaacs has an agreement with a translator in Moscow to publish a Russian version of the Messianic Times.

• Church leaders from 10 nations and 15 denominations met recently to form the International Reformed Fellowship, a conservative alternative to the Reformed Ecumenical Council and World Council of Churches. Coleaders of the group are John E. Kim of California, Luder Whitlock, Jr., of Mississippi, and Sam Sung Lee of Korea.

• Bramwell H. Tillsley, 61, succeeded Eva Burrows on July 9 as general of the Salvation Army. Tillsley is originally from Ontario, Canada, and he has been chief of staff at international headquarters in London for the past two years.

• South Korean pastor Lee Jang-rim, who predicted that the world would end on October 28, 1992 (CT, Jan. 11, 1993, p. 54), was ordered on May 20 by Seoul Appellate Court to serve a one-year prison sentence and pay a $26,000 fine. Lee, pastor of the 10,000-member Mission for the Coming Days Church, had convinced many followers to sell their homes, abandon their families, and turn over $1.3 million in assets to his church.

JERUSALEMZOO

The Cow Mooeth, the Lion Roareth

Even though the animals were not collected two by two, the residents of the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo do share an important tie to their ancestors. Most of the 600 animals in the zoo are mentioned in the Bible, and exhibition-area signs cite the appropriate biblical passages.

In its selection of tigers, monkeys, birds, and other animals, the zoo has sought animals that fit into the region’s biblical history. For example, though many types of lions exist in the world, zoo spokesman Itcha Gur says, “We tried to take a lion that was from this region—the Bible region.”

The brown bear, long extinct in Israel, is also represented at the zoo. Unlike the situation described in Isaiah 11:7, however, the cow and the bear are not grazing together at this park, nor are their children lying down together.

The Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, established more than 45 years ago, has just moved from northern Jerusalem to a new $18 million home in the southwest part of the city.

According to Gur, visitors are attracted by the “modern, open-area” design of the site. Some visitors have another important reason to show up. For “the extremely religious Jews, this zoo is one of the only places they can go,” says Gur. “They are not going to movies and not watching TV; the zoo is someplace they can visit.”

CHINESE CHRISTIANS

Persecution Is Price of Faith

Charges of harassment, imprisonment, torture, and even murder of Christians have highlighted the Chinese government’s determination to prevent religion-inspired democratic rebellion, according to human-rights organizations.

The Rutherford Institute reports that in March a meeting of Christians in Taoyuan Village was broken up by local police who stripped, beat, and imprisoned 5 of the 30 worshipers. One man died from wounds.

The Puebla Institute recently issued a report, Continued Persecution of Christians in China, which lists 104 Catholic and Protestant leaders who are being deprived of liberties for religious reasons. At least four religious prisoners died from torture or ill-treatment in the past 18 months, according to the report.

Despite Chinese government claims of relaxed restrictions, the Puebla Institute and another rights group, Asia Watch, say the religious repression has increased in the past year.

Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here.