(DOWNLOAD) "Hope for the Church In Egypt" by Tharwat Wahba # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Hope for the Church In Egypt
- Author : Tharwat Wahba
- Release Date : January 07, 2012
- Genre: Religion & Spirituality,Books,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 397 KB
Description
We have all been watching developments in the Middle East and North Africa with deep concern, sharing the hopes of often-oppressed people but aware – these past weeks more than ever – of violent, Islamist forces at work. Those who know something of the church in the region are particularly concerned for Christian minorities. And we are perplexed, at one point hearing the disturbing report of a church burned, followed by a moving account of Muslims holding hands to form a ring of protection around another.
From correspondence with leaders we support and have supported, the situation is also confusing to insiders. They live in a stew of ordinary people hoping for peace, most of whom happen to be Muslims; anti-Western and anti-Christian Islamists; others who have been grouped with Islamists in the past but now wish to govern; and young, often only nominally-religious humanists.
Imagine living in the region! It is from that context that Tharwat Wahba prepared the enclosed reflection on the church in his country, Egypt. He argues that its greatest need is not for more freedom, because ‘we have yet to use the freedoms we have to their current limits.’ Rather, the minority church in Egypt ‘needs to defeat the inner fears that bind it’ so it can embrace the opportunity to be a force for reconciliation, and grow the church.
Tharwat’s essay follows one from Munther Isaac three months ago in which he reflected on the possibility of reconciliation in Israel-Palestine. After reading each of them I am left with the same question: Dare we hope?
It is a privilege to work with these leaders who share hope, and seek peace and reconciliation in the midst of injustice. Please join us in praying for Tharwat and other fine leaders in the Middle East and North Africa as they encourage others in the midst of political-religious turmoil.
Larry Smith, President