A Great Film

Defying the Nazis: The Sharps' War tells the story of a US couple’s courageous private war against the Nazis in 1939.The Sharps, a Unitarian minister and his wife, are two of only five Americans honored as Righteous Among the Nations in Israel's Yad Vashem. You can watch their story online at PBS until October 5 by clicking on the above link.This film is the latest from Ken Burns, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs in documentaries. Defying the Nazis is an incredible story of great personal sacrifice.In this film you will see many similarities to the current social environment in America. How does an unlikely candidate rise quickly to power? How does racism thrive? Why don't people care for refugees? Is national security more important that children's lives? We've been here before.When you finish, read Auden's poem, September 1, 1939. We must love one another or die.

The Gosnell Travesty

“This is not about being 'pro-choice' or 'pro-life.' It's aboutbasic human rights.” 
—Kirsten Powers, 
USA Today

 If you don't know the name Kermit Gosnell, you should. And notin a good way. I expect the once-buried piece of news about him to be among tomorrow’s topnews stories—if not the top story. Warning: You must have a strong stomach to read/see this excellentarticle from The Atlantic: Why Dr. Kermit Gosnell's Trial Should Be a Front-Page Story: The dead babies. The exploited women. The racism. The numerous governmental failures. It is thoroughly newsworthy.

What You Won't Read in Mainstream Media

More than 100 Christians Killed in Nigeria’s Plateau State
By Obed Minchakpu

JOS, Nigeria, September 22 (Compass Direct News) – A rash of attacks by armed Muslim extremists on villages in Nigeria’s Plateau state in the past month have left more than 100 Christians dead, including the elimination of entire families, sources said.

In a guerilla-type “hit and run” attack on the Christian community of Vwang Kogot, Muslim attackers at about 8 p.m. on Sept. 9 killed 14 Christians, including a pregnant woman. Survivors of the attack said the assailants raided the village with the aid of men in military uniforms of the Nigerian Army. Many of the victims were members of a single family surnamed Danboyi.

“We heard gunshots in our village and realized that the sound was coming from a neighbor’s house, so we quickly ran to find out what was happening but saw a soldier at the entrance of the house with a gun ready to shoot at anybody who comes around, and at the same time preventing those inside from escaping,” village resident Markus Mamba told Compass Direct News. “We couldn’t get any closer because we were hearing gunshots at random, and we had no weapons with us to use to withstand the might of those soldiers, as there were quite a number of them around the house.”

“After the soldiers and the Muslims left, we rushed into the place to see the destruction they did,” he said. “We discovered that 14 people were killed. Among them was a pregnant woman who died with a child in her womb – bringing the number of deaths to 15 persons. We also observed that the victims died from gun and machete wounds.”

Gyang Badung survived the attack, but his wife, four children, mother, grandmother and a nephew did not, he told Compass.

He jumped through his bedroom window and ran to a farm behind his house, he said. “I waited in the bush, helpless, not knowing what to do until they left,” he said. “I saw more than nine people who came to attack us leaving into the bush and going away from our village. When I returned home, I found out that my whole family had been killed except for two sons, who were injured but survived, and my father who also narrowly escaped and ran into the bush.” The ages of the children he lost were 15, 9, 5, and 4. His two injured sons are receiving hospital treatment.

Vou Mallam, another survivor of the attack, was with her husband and children when the raiders broke into their house. She escaped death when she found a hiding place in one of the rooms. Her husband, only son and grandchildren were killed. She said she heard the assailants speaking the Fulani language. Ethnic Fulani are primarily Muslim nomads in Nigeria whom militant Muslims appear to be enlisting to attack Christian communities due to the Fulanis’ expert understanding of the terrain of rural communities, area Christians said.

Dachung Dagai, pastor of a Church of Christ in Nigeria congregation in Vwang Kogot, told Compass that the village has been attacked three times since he arrived eight months ago. “No help or relief from the government has been received by our people,” Dagai said. “We’ve just been living with the horror of not knowing what will happen next.” Dagai said their main concern is that Nigerian army soldiers have been involved in each attack.

Photo of grave with several murdered Christians in Vwang Koget courtesy of Compass Direct News, www.compassdirect.org.

Malatya

Every spring Christianity Today magazine announces what they deem the ten top religion stories from the previous year. One of the top stories they chose for the year 2007 was about the torture and martyrdom of three Christians in eastern Turkey. Some months later during missions week at DTS, students gained a behind-the-scenes perspective from the school’s first-ever Turkish student.

Yuce Kabakci told of how three employees of a publishing house that distributes Bibles were murdered in an attack that targeted Turkey’s Christian minority. (Turkey has a 98% Muslim population.) The three victims, a German and two Turkish citizens, were bound to their chairs and had their throats slit open. One of those Turkish citizens was Yuce’s mentor. After describing the tragedy to fellow students, Yuce left them with a challenge: “When you preach the gospel, do not say ‘God has a wonderful plan for your life.’ Tell people, ‘Jesus is worth dying for.’”

“Malatya” is the name of a town in eastern Turkey where the men were martyred. And “Malatya” is also the name of a 2009 documentary about the murders. Viewers watch news footage and hear from the martyrs’ wives, friends, and ministry partners about the tragedy and its aftermath.

The film challenges comfortable disciples to get uncomfortable and live courageously, forgiving their enemies and showing love in the face of despicable injustice. I highly recommend the film for personal reflection as well as group discussion. It comes with some extras including a visual prayer guide and extended scenes worth watching. You can watch the trailer below. For more information, including how to order, go to www.malatyafilm.com.

Also, here’s a good story about the initial news:

CBN filmed a follow-up three years later about how the martyrdoms have affected the Turkish church: