Ecclesiastical crime continues

Ohio,USA. A former church secretary has been sentenced to two years in prison for stealing $411,000 in $20 bills. She had been responsible for counting the collection and depositing it in the bank; a bank employee discovered her scam after realizing that no $20 bills were ever deposited. She was ordered to repay St. Michael's Roman Catholic Church in Kalida, Ohio, where she had worked for 19 years. Her husband has been charged with one count of receiving stolen property. They owned a Corvette and two sports vehicles, took yearly vacations to Disney World, and bought an expensive house with a swimming pool.

New Era (Philadelphia, USA). Thirty-one groups lost over $39 million when the Foundation for New Era Philanthropy went bankrupt, and subsequently sued the charity's broker, Stuart Bianchi, for $90 million. Bianchi opened fictitious escrow accounts and established a toll-free phone number to answer questions from New Era investors. The groups say that under federal law, if racketeering is proven, they can claim triple damages. The suit does not affect a proposal among New Era investors in which those who benefited from New Era dealings would voluntarily return money to those who lost funds.

These examples give specific data supporting the AD 2025 Global Monitor's annual table which reports annual embezzlement totals from this startling form of crime, now being reported from over 40 countries worldwide. In 1995, the total embezzled from churches, Christian institutions and agencies amounted to US$9.6 billion (International Bulletin of Missionary Research, January 1996, p. 25).

Using the Internet to evangelize World A_

The idea of using the Internet to evangelize has been bandied about for some time. There are several web pages devoted to explaining the Gospel, and many discipling e-mail groups. However, once again, these are for the most part only affecting people who have already heard the Gospel, and either accepted it or rejected it. Most visitors to the home pages of Christian organizations will be Christians. As far as evangelizing World A, the chief problem is the unevangelized peoples of the world are typically too poor to afford a computer, much less a connection to the Internet.

For example, out of several hundred million Han Chinese, the Shenzen Securities Times reported only 60,000 presently use the Internet. An imported Internet-ready computer would cost the average Chinese farmer over 10 years' wages. 900 million Chinese earned only $150 per person, according to the Chinese State Statistical Bureau. However, the Securities Times predicts a 25% growth rate in the computer industry during the next five years; the overall market value is estimated to reach $150.5 billion yuan (roughly US$18 billion) by AD 2000. China's economy is thought to have the potential to rival that of the United States by sometime in the early 21st century. As other underdeveloped nations become more industrialized, more people will begin using computers as well.

Nevertheless, although some inroads may be made via the Internet, the potential for evangelizing World A groups through this medium is slim. It is very likely most groups will be evangelized long before they ever acquire advanced technologies.

New Analysis

World facing water crisis

A UN report to a Beijing conference warned that water shortages, caused by rapidly increasing population and extravagant use, could be the cause of 21st century wars. In the next century, water could become as valuable as oil. The United Nations is calling for water conventions to prevent future conflicts, focusing mainly on water conservation and re-use rather than more expensive programs which are less likely to succeed. Unfortunately, the cost of implementing these reforms often comes into conflict with the immediate need for economic development. Many of the world's largest rivers flow across international borders, and control of or access to them could lead to war. Some drier countries have already threatened water-rich nations.

Water, of course, is absolutely necessary for human survival. 1.3 billion people lack clean, safe water to drink. Dirty water causes 80 percent of diseases in the developing world and kills 10 million people every year. However, drinking water isn't the only issue-water is also used for cleaning, cooking, industrial purposes, chemical development, and in medicine. Without water, civilizations cease to exist and mass migrations will move people to other sources of water-in the process causing difficulties for nations hosting the "water refugees."

One of the principle causes of water shortage is, amazingly enough, leakage. Sixty percent of drinkable water is lost to leaky containers in the Third World, as compared to 12 percent in the United States. (This is similar to the problem of food where rats destroy 25% of the world's annual harvests.) Further losses to clean water are caused by the untreated disposal of toxic waste, which pollutes rivers and aquifers.

Ironically, many of those lacking clean water also lack the "spiritual water of life": the gospel of Christ. There are several Christian organizations and mission agencies concerned with water development, and these issues will affect them in the next century. Moreover, all involved in frontier missions face the possibility of World A peoples being caught up in conflicts caused by the demand for water. Leaders should be looking at trends and statistics related to this and begin considering solutions and ministry options now.

Understanding "evangelize"

Wilbert R. Shenk's definition of Christian mission: "Mission originates with the missio Dei and is a process by which the message about salvation in Jesus Christ is introduced to a society by "foreign" agency with the purpose of inviting people to become disciples who form a distinct socio-religious group within the larger society committed to encourage personal and social transformation in continuing response to the reign of God. This historical process has anthropological, economic, psychological, religious, and sociological dimensions" (Missiology 24:1, January 1996:39-40).

New Events

Buddhist Canon published in 755 volumes

Nonprofit Dharma Publishing of Berkeley, California, directed by Tibetan Lama Tharthang Tulku recently completed the entire Tibetan Buddhist canon in 36,000 original facsimile Tibetan texts. This required 755 atlas-sized volumes, printed on fine paper and bound in the French groove method. Only 108 copies were produced. The project, began in 1981, is devoted to the preservation of Tibetan Buddhism and culture. Many completed sets were donated to Tibetan Buddhist teached centers. The Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research in Berkeley is also working on the translation into English of the entire Chinese Buddhist canon, the Tripitaka. Over 80 scholars and translators are currently working on this project (Religion bookline, May 15, 1996:3).

New Trends

Regional conflicts and human suffering

A new study reveals 42 million people worldwide are threatened by disease and starvation due to regional conflicts. "Global Humanitarian Emergencies 1996" catalogs more than 20 emergencies caused by countries' internal conflicts or repressive government policies. Countries topping the list are Afghanistan, Sudan, Bosnia, Ethiopia, Angola, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Iraq, Haiti, Eritrea, Somalia, and Tajikistan. These countries need international aid to combat disease and starvation. At the same time, their citizens become refugees, provoking widespread hunger, stress on resources, environmental deterioration, and economic, social, and political collapse. For a copy of this important report contact the U.S. Mission to the United Nations at (212)415-4275 (Population today, May 1996:8).

Unpleasant news for the 21st century

While news of global warming has received a cool reception in the past few years, its expected effects on humanity should not be quickly dismissed. The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling climate change one of the great challenges for the 21st century. The reason_ Global warming has a number of chilling side-effects. First, increased durations for summer heat will likely result in more deaths. (A reverse effect will be felt in winter, with many lives saved). Second, vector-borne microbes may find new regions to devastate. For example conditions favorable to the transmission of malaria now extend to 45% of the world's population. That could increase to 60% with warming of 3-5 C. Third, warming of the seas may make humans more susceptible to cholera, as in epidemics in Peru in 1991. These and other effects have to be taken seriously by anyone concerned about the future (Science news, April 6, 1996:218-219).

How does your urban garden grow_

Ironically, the very kind of life that millions are fleeing from might offer salvation in the end. Millions of rural farmers are expected to flood into the world's great urban centers over the next few decades. If and when they find jobs they will likely spend 60 to 90 percent of their income on nourishment. A new trend is helping many new city dwellers survive: a increase in urban argriculture. As an example, almost all of China's vegetables are supplied by farming within its metropolises. Not only does this help to feed urban dwellers but it often provides an important source of additional income for struggling families. These city gardens are remarkably efficient often obtaining yields many times higher than that of their rural counterparts. The new trend could offer new hope for the food supply dilemma plaguing many of the world's megacities (Scientific American, June 1996:18-20.)

Western oil companies look to Central Asia

Baku, Azerbaijan was one of the original "oil boom" towns. Lenin targeted it in the 1917 revolution to make sure he did not lose crucial supplies. The oil fueled World War II Soviet planes, and Hitler was obsessed with capturing Baku. Stalin built an off-shore platform that held 150 miles of roadways. Azerbaijan was-and is-so full of oil residents shovelled seepage out of the ground into buckets and sold it to tankers.

Now, this resource is beginning to draw attention again. Nearly every major Western oil company has rushed to the region to explore and develop reserves, investing billions of dollars and thousands of expatriate workers. What will be the impact_ Azerbaijan promises to invest the revenues to benefit the country by diversifying the economy. More importantly, the impact of expatriate workers-many Christians-will be felt for decades, just as they have been in Saudi Arabia.

New Profiles

Two important discoveries relevant to the progress of world mission emerge from our profile of the Saudi Arabs. The first discovery is how rapidly a seemingly impenetrable and unresponsive World A people (virtually closed to the gospel of Jesus Christ) can have its situation radically reversed by a rapid turn of secular events. Christians would call this God's providence, His guidance, His strategy becoming unfurled.

Ten years ago, Saudi Arabs were not interested in Christianity. Today, many of the hardest-working and most reliable of the country's 1 million resident alien workers are committed Christians from 20 strongly-Christian countries. As one result, thousands of Saudis have believed in Jesus! Anyone hoping or planning for the evangelization of this remarkable country now has to take alien workers into account as vastly more significant than the organized foreign missionary approach which remains miniscule.

A second discovery comes when we divide annual new baptisms by the total hours of evangelism put in by Christian workers. The result shows conclusively that, hour for hour, Saudi Arabs are virtually the most responsive people in the world-100 times more so than non-Christians in Europe or America. If the volume of evangelism is still very small, who should remedy this_

New Martyrs

A genocide chronology and Christian martyrs

by Justin D. Long

Rwanda is just beginning to recover from a two-year campaign of genocide which resulted in the deaths of up to one million Tutsis and moderate Hutus. A high percentage of these killings fall under our very precise definition of martyrs for Christ. Here is a chronology of the events and an examination of how ethnic unrest can affect wide numbers of World A peoples.

• April 6, 1994. The plane carrying President Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda (a member of the Hutu tribe) and Burundi President Cyprien Ntaryamira back from a peace conference in Kigali is shot down with an anti-aircraft missile. Both leaders died.
• April 7, 1994. Hours later, Habyarimana's presidential guard, along with other Hutu soldiers, militia and mobs, begin a campaign of revenge, hunting down Tutsis and the Hutu opponents of Habyarimana. Atrocities abound, even in the opening moments of the conflict. Rwanda's woman prime minister, Agathe Uwilingiyimana, who was an outspoken critic of Habyarimana, is raped and killed by troops, and the ten Belgian soldiers who served as her bodyguard are tortured and killed as well. The mass slaughter which began in Kigali eventually spreads to the capital, where government troops attack the rebels of the Rwanda Patriotic Front hiding in Kigali's parliament building.
• April 8, 1994. Citing ethnic killings, unrest, and the general breakdown of order in Kigali, RPF commander Major-General Paul Kagame declares war. His troops leave their positions at the parliament building and advance into Kigali, coming into direct conflict with government forces. Two days later the evacuation of foreigners commences in earnest, and Belgian planes carrying 800 troops arrive to reinforce the process.
• April 1994. Weeks of violence ensue. Many mission agencies suffer terrifying moments trying to get their people out. Some missionaries were missing for hours or days, and many were killed.
• May 1, 1994. In the fastest single mass exodus ever witnessed by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, 250,000 Rwandan refugees swamp Tanzania. To comprehend this, imagine what it would be like if everyone in the city of Anchorage, Alaska (USA) moved to Canada in less than a few days, fleeing an oncoming invader. Several agencies are faced with trying to help tens of thousands on the verge of starvation.
• May 30, 1994. As the RPF advance again on Kigali, another mass exodus: 500,000 Hutus flee the capital for the town of Gitarama (imagine everyone in Jerusalem, Israel, moving to the Golan).
• June 1994. RPF commander Kagame reports at least one million people had been slaughtered in the eight weeks of violence. (That's the equivalent of erasing Hawaii from the United States). In the face of this disaster, the UN announces a force of 5,500 troops was ready for a peacekeeping mission in Rwanda, but lacked equipment and logistical support.
• June 12, 1994. The Hutu government flees Gitarama to the northern town of Gisenyi, as its army made a last stand against the rebels.
• July 4, 1994. The capital falls to RPF forces. A third mass exodus, this time more than a million Hutus, cross into the towns of Goma and Bukavu, Zaire in fear of their lives. The impact: one out of every 50 people in Zaire was a refugee from Rwanda.
• July 19, 1994. A new government is sworn into power in Rwanda. Pasteur Bizimungu, a Hutu, is named president and RPF Commander Kagame is vice-president.
• November 1994. The UN Security Council approves an international court for Rwandan war criminals.
• December 1994. Hutu refugees in eastern Zaire declare a government-in-exile.
• April 1995. Thousands of refugee Hutus are killed at the Kibeho camp when government troops attempt to close it down.
• June 1995. Zaire, in a move met by international outrage, sent home thousands of Rwandan Hutu refugees in forced repatriation.
• September 1995. Another 110 Hutus are killed in raids by government troops on villages near Zaire.
• November 1995. A year after the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is established, the first indictment is signed.
• March 8, 1996. The UN peacekeeping mission in Rwanda lowered its flag and ended its operation after the Rwandan government denied it an extension.

Rwanda, of course, wasn't the only country affected. Zaire and Burundi both hosted refugees. Recently, the Red Cross estimated an additional 56,000 have been displaced from their homes in Burundi due to ethnic fighting, which began in March after Hutu rebels launched an offensive in the southwest. Altogether, the 1993-1995 civil unrest in the area has been responsible for over 300,000 refugees. This displacement is causing stress on all forms of humanitarian relief and ministry in Burundi, and in the region generally. But worse, many thousands have been killed as what we are defining as Christian martyrs. We calculate that, following our definition of a martyr as "a believer in Christ who loses his or her life, prematurely, in a situation of witness, as a result of human hostility," the above events have resulted in over 500,000 more Christian martyrs, including many pastors, priests, church members, Bible society associates, and lay leaders of all kinds. What will be the effect of this massive "witness for Christ"_ Historically, martyrdom has always been one of the most powerful acts of witness. We can pray that God will turn these events to some good use. Perhaps Rwandans who witnessed martyrdoms and became converts as a result may one day have themselves a significant ministry in Sudan and Somalia, both hardened World A countries just a little way to the north and east.

New Books

The Kurds continue to draw attention in the academic world. See James Ciment's The Kurds: state and minority in Iran, Iraq, and Turkey. Conflict and crisis in the post-cold war world series. (Facts on File, 1996, 192p, $21.95).

For a thorough treatment of what is an inconvenience to some and life or death for others see David Alderton's Rodents of the world (Facts on File, 1996, 192p, $25.95).

John Polkinghorne continues to contribute to the logical friendship between science and religion in the search for truth and understanding in Quarks, chaos, and Christianity: questions to science and religion (Crossroad, 1996, $9.95 pb).

Muhammad and Jesus: a comparison of the prophets and their teachings by William E. Phipps (Continuum, 1996, 256p, $24.95) investigates similarities and profound differences between the two founders of the world's largest religions.

For a look into the postmodern future see Walter Truett Anderson's Evolution isn't what it used to be: the augmented animal and the whole wired world (W.H. Freeman, 1996, 192p, $22.95) and Adrian Berry's The next 500 years: life in the coming millennium (W.H. Freeman, 1996, 352p, $22.95). Be warned that both books have little new to say about religion in the future.

More light is shed on World A in Charles Lindholm's The Islamic Middle East: an historical anthropology (Blackwell, 1996, 288p, $24.95 pb) and in Gad G. Gilbar's Population and dilemmas in the Middle East (Frank Cass, 1996, 272p, $20.00 pb).

The encyclopedia of global industries (Gale, 1996, 1,034p, $395.00) covers the size of the industry, how it functions, and its history and development for 115 industry groupings worldwide.

A whole book has been written covering what to do when computer clocks turn to "00" in the year 2000. See Jerome T. Murray and Marilyn J. Murray's The year 2000 computing crisis: a millennium date conversion plan (McGraw-Hill, 1996, $49.95 pb with disk).

To understand Jerusalem before the Crusades see The history of Jerusalem: the early Muslim period (638-1099) edited by Joshua Prawer (New York University Press, 1996, 400p, $75.00)

Jews among Muslims: communities in the precolonial Middle East edited by Shlomo Deshen and Walter P. Zenner (New York University Press, 1996, 330p, $50.00) deals with the delicate interaction between two world religions and their adherents.

Religion in the Soviet Union: an archival reader edited by Felix Corley (New York University Press, 1996, 352p, $55.00) offers documentation of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam under Soviet rule.

Editors Curtis C. Roseman, Hans Dieter Laux, and Gunter Thieme give insights into the relationship between ethnicity and cities in Ethnicity: geographic perspectives on ethnic change in modern cities (Rowman and Littlefield, 1996, 320p, $24.95 pb).

For the first wide-ranging re-evaluation of development in North Africa in almost thirty years see Dirk Vandewalle's (editor) North Africa: development and reform in a changing global economy (St. Martin's Press, 1996, 250p, $49.95). On a related subject see Clement H. Henry's The Mediterranean debt crescent: money and power in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Turkey (University Press of Florida, 1996, $49.95).

Judith Miller, New York Times correspondent who has spent 25 years reporting on the Middle East, studies the various permutations of militant Islam in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Algeria, Libya, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, and Iran in God has ninety-nine names: reporting from a militant Middle East (Simon & Schuster, 1996, 547p, $27.50).

David James Mearns chronicles the lives of Indians in Malaysia in Shiva's other children: religion and social identity amongst overseas Indians (AltaMira Press, 1995, 304p, $29.95).

The time of the tribes: the decline of individualism in mass society by Michel Maffesoli, translated by Don Smith (Sage Publications, 1996, 176p, $23.95pb) describes contemporary society as a patchwork of affinity-based groups.

The primitive church in the modern world edited by Richard T. Hughes (University of Illinois Press, 1996, 248p, 14.95pb) describes the churches' efforts to balance modernization with the desire to restore primitive Christianity.

Vision bearers: dynamic evangelism in the 21st century by Richard Kew and Cyril Okorocha (Morehouse, 1996, $11.95) offers world-wide interviews with Anglican clergy and lay people outlining opportunities for mission and evangelism beyond AD 2000.

God and the Big Bang: discovering harmony between science and spirituality by Daniel C. Matt (Jewish Lights Publishing, 1996, 208p, $21.95) attempts to harmonize htmlects of Jewish mysticism and physics.

Look soon for a Chinese-language version of the Mennonite classic Seven things children need (Christian Literature Crusade, Hong Kong, 1996). The book, originally published in English in 1976, is also available in Afrikaans, Arabic, Finnish, German, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Thai. The "seven things" are significance, security, acceptance, love, praise, discipline, and God.

God on the Internet by Mark A. Kellner (IDG Books, 1996, $24.99) examines online sites on the Internet and on commercial services where users can uncover information about most of the major world religions.

Darrell Fasching imagines how Christians might tell their story anew for the coming of a new millennium of global diversity in The coming of the millennium: good news for the whole human race (Trinity Press International, 1996, 144p, $12.00).

In Einstein, history and other passions: the rebellion against science at the end of the twentieth century (Addison-Wesley, 1996) physicist and science historian Gerald Holton notes that proponents of postmodernism have described science as a useful myth and argue that the disctinction between science and fiction should be abolished.

Science and religion reconciled_

Henry Carrigan (Religion bookline April 15, 1996:2-3) explores the changing relationship between science and religion in a bibligraphic essay entitled "Science and Religion Meet Across the Great Divide." Carrigan sees a trend toward a more conciliatory note, particularly from the religious publishers. He looks to the model suggested by physicist Ian Barbour in his Religion in the age of science (Harper San Francisco, 1990). Barbour suggests four ways in which religion and science interact: through conflict, independence, dialogue and integration. Today's books are reflecting more of the latter two ways. Some of these are John F. Haught's Science and religion: from conflict to conversation (Paulist, 1995), Michael Cavanaugh's Biotheology: a new synthesis of science and religion (University Press of America, 1995), Del Ratzsch's The battle of beginnings: why neither side is winning the creation-evolution debate (InterVarsity, 1996), and Nancy Pearcey and Charles Thaxton's The soul of science: Christian faith and natural philosophy (Crossway, 1995).

On the other side, scientists, especially physicists and cosmologists, have been exploring the spiritual side of scientific inquiry. Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose reveal spiritual dimensions to understand the complexity of the universe in The nature of space and time (Princeton University, 1996). Other attempts include Barry Parker's Chaos in the cosmos: the stunning complexity of the universe (Plenum, 1996) and Brian Swimme's The hidden heart of the cosmos: humanity and the new story (Orbis, 1996).

At the same time, new commmentary in Religion watch (May 1996:1) reveals a escalation in both rhetoric and activism over the role of genetics in human society. Scientists have been using almost religious language to describe the role of DNA and many Christians have seen too close of a correlation between divine creation and human creativity.

Afghanistan bibliography

The Arthur Paul Afghanistan Collection: Pashto and Dari Titles compiled by Shaista Wahab (1996) is a bibliography based on the Afghanistan materials available in the Arthur Paul Afghanistan Collection. The purpose of this bibliography is to make this unique collection of Afghanistan materials known to scholars interested in the subject area. The Collection has six thousand titles covering htmlects of Afghan life and culture from the prehistoric period to the present in more than twenty different languages.

Volume I contains over 800 titles and will be available for $20 each plus shipping and handling. Since the Library consistently adds Afghanistan materials to the collection, an update or a supplement is planned for the future to include those titles that the Library has acquired but have not been listed in this volume. Work on volume II of the Arthur Paul Afghanistan Collection Bibliography: English and Other European Languages has been started and will be available for publication late in 1996. Contact: University of Omaha Library Administrative Office.

New Statistics

China. Trans World Radio and China Ministry International report that 20,000 "radio churches" have been started in this country in the past two years (World pulse, 3 May 1996:3).

Peru. Evangelical Christianity has seen remarkable, recent growth in the Amazonian provinces of Peru. Researcher David Quispirroca reports, "In the area north of Apurimac where many pastors, leaders and lay-Christians were killed by terrorists there is church growth of 80 percent a year." Three other provinces in the region are 48%, 42% and 36% Evangelical (DAWN report, June 1996:5).

Sudan. There has been a recent, dramatic growth of Christianity among the Dinka of Sudan. Trained pastors and evangelists are desperately needed. One American Anglican, Mark Nikkel, has been helping by serving as "a one-man itinerant theological college" (Anglican world, Pentecost 1996:19).

China. Fugong county of Yunnan Province, China, is sometimes called "Christ County" because of its high concentration of Christians. In fact, 90% of the population of 70,000 are Christians. The people are predominantly from the ethnic Lisu, Nu, and Bai minorities. The main force behind recent rapid growth of Christianity is apparently a group of 20 indigenous evangelists who itinerate across the difficult mountain terrain. The churches have no ordained pastors. Relations with the local government have been good, as officials have seen the crime rate drop and thus recognized Christianity as a positive social force. The churches have also established a Three Self committee. Some local Christians complain of "sectarian" preachers from outside who have brought division (World pulse, 19 April 1996:7). It is remarkable to learn of such a concentration of Christians in a county of China, though such a pattern has been seen before among tribal peoples of Asia, such as in northeast India.

North Korea. 50,000 Bibles were smuggled into North Korea in 1995 (NIRR, 13 May 96).

Papua New Guinea. The 400th New Testament translation by Wycliffe missionaries was presented in 1995 to the Barai people of Papua New Guinea. They live in the southeast of the country near the Owen Stanley mountain range (EP news service, 12 January 1996:10).

Sahara. The Sahrawi are in Sahara (40,000) and Algeria (150,000-refugees from the war in Sahara). An Evangelical group from Spain learned of the Saharawis of Algeria at the GCOWE II conference in Seoul in 1995 and "adopted" them. A missionary was soon sent. In 1996 he reported the first three conversions and one baptism from his ministry (DAWN Friday fax, 30 May 1996).

Bosnia. Bosniacs (a revived name for the Bosnian Muslims of Bosnia): a new church in Sarajevo has recently grown from 5 to 40 members; half of the new members come from Muslim background. A small church in Tuzla (a 90% Muslim northern industrial town) organized a week of evangelistic activities that 300 Muslims visited (DAWN Friday fax, 30 May 1996).

Austria. The next generation doesn't appear as interested in Christianity as the current one. A Gallup Institute poll showed that 35% of those under 30 are atheists and only 3% of those under 30 attend church every Sunday. Special attention to youth ministries may be called for. (NIRR)

Germany. More than half the residents of the former East Germany say they are nonreligious. Religious persecution in the former Communist country caused a 25% drop in baptisms in the late 1950s, and church membership declined steadily in the subsequent decades. All religions "appear suspect and esoteric" to them, a German sociology professor told a newspaper.

United Kingdom. Hindus in Britain are praying for the protection of cattle that may be slaughtered because of mad cow disease. The Eastern religion considers cows sacred. As officials debated whether to kill the herds, Swami Ramesh Mashru urged their protection. "The cows should be allowed to reach a natural death," he said. About 140,000 Hindus live in England.

China. China's newest plan to reduce illiteracy cites the following statistics: Total illiterate over age of 15: 15.9% in 1990; 12 % in 1995 (145 million). Number educated to technical college/university level: 16.1 million (1990), 25 million (1995). Unofficial surveys have put women's illiteracy as high as 30 percent of the female population because of inferior schooling opportunities and high drop-out rates for girls. Illiteracy is important because it means that over 145 million people cannot read a Bible, even if one is provided for them.

Brazil. A study by a Sao Paulo newspaper said 20% of Brazilians belong to non-Catholic churches, compared with 7% in 1960. A growing number of people are joining Pentecostal churches (Ecumenical News International).

Dominican Republic. More than 1 million people watched the evangelistic film The Crossing on prime-time television in Santo Domingo last month, according to Denver-based Youth for Christ. YFC persuaded the national television station to air the film during Easter because it illustrates the death and resurrection of Christ (NIRR).

India. TWR broadcasts generate 75,000 information requests per month. 6 hours of programming are broadcast in 40 languages daily from Sri lanka. About 500 workers visit those who respond. About 300 congregations in remote areas have begun in 20 years.

Mozambique. TWR has launched over 300 churches among the Macua people in northern Mozambique. Broadcasts have led thousands to Christ.

World Evangelization Statistical Monitor

Below we examine the expected impact of the world's religions after AD 2000. The analysis below is derived from our new annual table from the January 1996 issue of the IBMR, and represent average annual growth rates.

Christians	1.47%
Muslims	1.59%
Nonreligious	1.07%
Hindus	1.06%
Buddhists	0.93%
Atheists	0.07%
New-Religionists	1.65%
Tribal religionists	-0.90%
World population	1.24%

New Technologies

The book of the future_

Imagine a book of about 200 thin pages that contains the entire text of over 200 books. Joseph Jacobson of MIT Media Labratory is working on what could be the book of the future, an electronic device that looks and feels like a regular book but contains a microprocessor and a mini CD-ROM drive. Each page is a flat display with thousands of pixels that can represent a page from a book (with text in a font and size that suits the reader). These pages would access data on a CD so that one could sit and read any of 200 books in this single volume. This technology has many advantages over current CD-ROM compilations which require heavy and expensive computer systems that are difficult on the eyes. Jacobson's greatest challenges: screen resolution and power (Technology review, May/June 1996:12-13). Uses for a Christian audience or for evangelization are limitless: great Christian works in a single volume, evangelistic or discipleship materials at the fingertips, etc.

New web sites

• Kurdistan. NetIran has material on Kurdistan written from an Iranian/Kurdish point of view .
• Chinese Church Support Ministries is on the net.
• New web directory. Microsoft is offering the new Microsoft Bookshelf Internet Directory, an 800-page book and CD-ROM listing over 4,000 Internet sites covering everything from activism to zoology, as well as the most useful and entertaining Web and FTP sites on the Internet. The CD- ROM will be updated annually, just as Microsoft Bookshelf is, with the updates available on the World Wide Web. The CD-ROM is available directly from Microsoft Press at 1-800-MSPRESS for $39.95.

Making it easier to obtain new technologies

Microsoft is launching a new "Get ISDN for Microsoft Windows" campaign. The software can be downloaded from the Microsoft web site free of charge. It will allow customers to request an ISDN line, automatically forwarding the necessary information to the appropriate telephone company, which will finalize the ISDN installation. The line will automatically be configured for use with a Windows-based PC.

Bringing information to remote areas

Ghana. The country's leaders have signed an agreement with a company that will bring video, radio and limited computer technology to people all over the country. The system is called WorldSpace, and utilizes statonary satellites over Africa, Latin America and Asia which beam signals to special compact radios fitted with videoscreens that allow limited computer data transfer. These radios are solar-powered and about the size of a book, and could provide high-quality sound and computer imagesto over 4 billion people once the system is online in 1999. The radio will cost about $50.

South Africa. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research is developing a system which will put remote schools and communities on the Internet. It uses a light-weight antenna, a phone (but no phone line) and a computer. The system is less expensive than running cables to remote sites, and can be installed in days. Another company is offering primary and adult education via satellite in rural areas of South Africa, expanding to Uganda and Nigeria. One recently sold for $12,000 in Nkowakowa, which has no electricity or telephone. They offer classes from fourth-grade math to business skills, charging $90 for 30 one-hour sessions.