Thugs said to be doing the bidding of local authorities attacked a pastor and his family with iron bars and wooden clubs in central Vietnam recently, seriously injuring the heads and arms of the church leader’s father and other relatives, sources said.

Twice on the same Sunday that local authorities disrupted a house church service in Phu Quy village near Tam Ky, Quang Nam Province, a gang of about 20 men attacked the father, brother and other family members of pastor Thien An, who was locked in a secure room as his family believed the gang sought to kill him, sources said.

Police had visited his home the week prior to “investigate” the house church, whose application for registration authorities have twice denied, according to the pastor. Church members echoed the sentiment of one Christian that “even a child” could figure out the connection between the gang and the public security police who disrupted their service that morning.

Pastor Thien told the officers he would meet with them after the service, but they barged into the meeting and pulled the plug on the sound system, according to a letter distributed on the Internet from Pastor Thien addressed to “all in the world with a conscience.” When church members protested, one officer yelled and threatened to hit the pastor’s father, according to his report.

After some time, the “angry police officers, full of threats, left our house of prayer,” according to the pastor.

The report said that at 1 p.m. the same day, some 20 gang members, many of them large and sporting tattoos, came to the house church when only the pastor and his extended family were home. Believing the gang had come to murder the pastor, his family urged him to retreat into a secure, locked interior room.

As the gang members struck his father, brother and others trying to defend the pastor and his family, which included a 1-week-old infant boy, the family prayed hard even as they vigorously resisted. Finally the gang left on their motorcycles threatening to return to “bring this house of God to the ground, and kill all of you,” the pastor reported.

During the attack, Pastor Thien called four levels of police and security officials, but, strangely, no one answered. After the gang left, he called the chief of the provincial police department and secured a promise to investigate.

Alerted by cell phone, church members rushed to the house to support the pastor and his family and prayed with them. Assuming things had settled down, they left in the early evening. But at 8:30 p.m., as the family was locked into their home, they were alarmed at the sound of shouting and breaking glass.

Pastor Thien was anxious to defend his family, but they restrained him from going out to confront the gang, saying he was their main target. As the gang wielding iron bars and wooden clubs viciously attacked Pastor Thien’s father and several others outside the secure room in which the pastor and his family were locked, gang members stationed outside prevented anyone from coming to help.

The gang managed to smash the glass of the door to the secure room, but Pastor Thien’s father, younger brother and an uncle miraculously managed to fend off the attackers, who finally retreated with their weapons, according to the report. Calls to various police offices during this attack also went unanswered, the pastor added.

Photos taken after this attack and posted on YouTube show head wounds on the defenders, blood on the floor and smashed windows. They also record the loud, anguished prayers for justice. Pastor Thien’s younger brother collapsed when the gang retreated and announced he was about to die, but the pastor prayed for him, and some five minutes later he was revived.

The house church, part of the Vietnam Baptist Church (VBC), is the larger of two legally registered denominations related to the U.S. Southern Baptist Church. Though the denomination is fully and nationally registered, local officials apparently consider the well-established congregation in Phu Quy village to be illegal.

The pastor, who reported that local authorities had refused two attempts to register his church, stated that police have summoned some of his members, especially young women, and strongly pressured them to stop worshipping there; some succumbed to serious threats and signed documents pledging to do so.

Police also recently summoned the pastor and warned that if he continued convening worship, they would not take responsibility if someone attacked it, he reported.

The Quang Nam provincial leader of the VBC contacted by Compass did not visit the affected church until the following Sunday (Oct. 30). He confirmed the incident had taken place and said the church met without incident that day.

Pastor Thien’s superior said he would try again to help the church to register with local authorities.

Several days after the attack, top officials of the VBC in Ho Chi Minh City reported that they had not received Pastor Thien’s appeal and seemed oddly reluctant to publicly support their beleaguered congregation in Tam Ky. Reliable sources told Compass that the leaders’ reluctance stemmed from fear of confronting authorities and putting at risk what they consider a good relationship with the government.

The pastor’s appeal and the subsequent YouTube clips, however, were widely distributed by other church leaders in Vietnam who were incensed and sickened by the blatant attack on fellow Christian worshippers.

“Even if there were irregularities on the church side in the registration process, it could in no way justify such a brutal attack in which government authorities are complicit,” one house church leader in Vietnam told Compass. “But this is still our country’s version of rule-of-law.”

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Question: “What does the Bible say about Christian fathers?”

Answer: The greatest commandment in Scripture is this: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5). Going back to verse 2, we read, “So that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.” Following Deuteronomy 6:5, we read, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (vv. 6-7).

Israelite history reveals that the father was to be diligent in instructing his children in the ways and words of the Lord for their own spiritual development and well-being. The father who was obedient to the commands of Scripture did just that. This brings us to Proverbs 22:6, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” To “train” indicates the first instruction that a father and mother give to a child, i.e., his early education. The training is designed to make clear to children the manner of life they are intended for. To commence a child’s early education in this way is of great importance.

Ephesians 6:4 is a summary of instructions to the father, stated in both a negative and positive way. “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” The negative part of this verse indicates that a father is not to foster negativity in his children by severity, injustice, partiality, or unreasonable exercise of authority. Harsh, unreasonable conduct towards a child will only serve to nurture evil in the heart. The word “provoke” means “to irritate, exasperate, rub the wrong way, or incite.” This is done by a wrong spirit and wrong methods—severity, unreasonableness, sternness, harshness, cruel demands, needless restrictions, and selfish insistence upon dictatorial authority. Such provocation will produce adverse reactions, deadening children’s affection, reducing their desire for holiness, and making them feel that they cannot possibly please their parents. A wise parent seeks to make obedience desirable and attainable by love and gentleness.

The positive part of Ephesians 6:4 is expressed in a comprehensive direction—educate them, bring them up, develop their conduct in all of life by the instruction and admonition of the Lord. This is the whole process of educating and discipline. The word “admonition” carries the idea of reminding the child of faults (constructively) and duties (responsibilities).

The Christian father is really an instrument in God’s hand. The whole process of instruction and discipline must be that which God commands and which He administers, so that His authority should be brought into constant and immediate contact with the mind, heart, and conscience of children. The human father should never present himself as the ultimate authority to determine truth and duty. It is only by making God the teacher and ruler on whose authority everything is done that the goals of education can best be attained.

Martin Luther said, “Keep an apple beside the rod to give the child when he does well.” Discipline must be exercised with watchful care and constant training with much prayer. Chastening, discipline, and counsel by the Word of God, giving both reproof and encouragement, is at the core of “admonition.” The instruction proceeds from the Lord, is learned in the school of Christian experience, and is administered by the parents—primarily the father, but also, under his direction, the mother. Christian discipline is needed to enable children to grow up with reverence for God, respect for parental authority, knowledge of Christian standards, and habits of self-control.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). A father’s first responsibility is to acquaint his children with Scripture. The means and methods that fathers may use to teach God’s truth will vary. As the father is faithful in role modeling, what children learn about God will put them in good standing throughout their earthly lives, no matter what they do or where they go.

Recommended Resource: Fathering Like the Father: Becoming the Dad God Wants You to Be by Gangel & Gangel.

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Father Alberto Cutie, the former celebrity Roman Catholic priest based in Florida said recently that the woman who led to his break from the Catholic Church is a gift that was given to him by God.

Cutie, who now heads a small Episcopalian church in Miami, said that his wife, Ruhana Canellis, is a “great woman,” and he is not ashamed of having fallen in love with her. Ruhana was once a parishioner at the Catholic Church where the Cuban-American served, CBS 12 News said.

Cutie told CBS 12 News, in his first interview about the past two years, “I think what every married man feels for the person they want to spend their life with, I think the love Ruhama and I share is a special gift from God.”

He said, too, that he never wanted to hurt the Catholic Church, telling CBS12 News, “God knows my heart, he knows I never desired to hurt the church or to hurt people or to violate sacred promises. I just got to a point where I couldn’t say no to love.”

Cutie once hosted a popular TV show that was shown in 22 countries, and some people called him “Father Oprah,” The Palm Beach Post said. Then tabloids came out bearing photos of “Father Oprah” on the beach with a woman, despite his Catholic vow of celibacy, CBS 12 News said.

Cutie said, “[At] that moment I had no clue the pictures were about me. I was convinced as the pictures were taken they had something to do with tourism or something else,” CBS 12 reported.

Cutie told CBS 12 News, “The tabloids only give you the scandal. I wanted people to know the real story behind what happened. The one thing I regret is not having come out first and saying to everyone…this is something I’m going through and I need to get out of here.”

Episcopal Priest

Now Cutie is an Episcopal priest heading a small church in Miami. He gives services every Sunday, some in Spanish and some in English. He and Ruhana are the parents of four-month-old Camilla Victoria, CBS News said.

Cutie once said of Ruhana, “This is the woman who saved my life,” The Palm Beach Post reported. In his interview with CBS 12 News Cutie said, “To be a priest with a baby is to be like St. Peter, like the first pope…and I love my colleagues in the Episcopal church, men and women, because they are clergy who have the same family struggles.”

Looking back, the former Catholic priest told CBS12 News that it’s possible that subconsciously, he wanted the world to know about Ruhana, saying, “Nobody should have to live a double life, nobody.”

When CBS12 News asked why he didn’t leave the church before the scandal broke out, Cutie said, “That’s the dilemma, the dilemma is not knowing exactly how to move on.”

Dilemma is also the title of a book he wrote, and which was published early this year (see http://theundergroundsite.com/index.php/2011/01/former-catholic-priest-albert-cutie-releases-tell-all-book-questions-churchs-celibacy-rule-14984).

Cutie noted that some 120,000 priests had departed from the Catholic Church so that they could get married. He said the Catholic Church is like “a movement toward the 18^th century and it’s sad,” The Palm Beach Post reported.

In leaving, Cutie said, “I had a choice and the choice was I’m not going to continue living with a rule that deep down in my heart I don’t feel comes from God, it comes from an institution that doesn’t want to change,” CBS12 News reported.

In a statement, Cutie’s former archbishop said, “Father Cutie’s actions have caused grave scandal within the Catholic Church, harmed the Archdiocese of Miami—especially our priests,” according to CBS 12 News.

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Two Christians in Baghdad were killed yesterday, and 13 others were wounded from a seemingly coordinated series of bomb attacks in all parts of the city, targeting the homes of Christians.

According to the Guardian, at least three Christian homes were hit by grenades and homemade bombs in the southwest, eastern and western parts of the city within a span of two hours. However, the AP reported that authorities confirmed at least seven homes were hit, while unofficial reports raised the number to 12.

Last week, al-Qaeda issued threats of impending violence against Christians, which led to many of the faithful to celebrate Christmas more quietly, canceling mass and Santa Clause visits, The Guardian reported.

Major General Qassim al-Moussawi, Iraq’s military spokesman, confirmed the two deaths, Al Jazeera reported. He also mentioned a bomb that landed near the fence of a home in Southern Baghdad that also belonged to Christians, but gave no information about casualties.

Al-Moussawi said, “The aim of these attacks is to prevent Christians from celebrating the New Year’s holiday,” Al Jazeera reported.

Iraqi Christians have lived under constant fear amid heightened attacks since militants attacked Our Lady of Salvation cathedral in Baghdad, which ended with the deaths of 68 churchgoers, the AP reported.

Father Mukhlis, a priest from the landmark cathedral, said there were as many as 12 violent attacks against Christian homes across Baghdad, the AP reported. According to Al Jazeera, the explosions hit the outside and the yards of the homes.

Al Jazeera’s Rawya Rageh said, “Some grenades were even lobbed into yards of these homes. They were simply homemade bombs. When the police arrived at the scene they found unexploded bombs still lying there.”

According to the AP, in the worst attack, two people were killed by a bomb that exploded outside their home in eastern part of the city. Three others were injured. In four other bombings in different parts of the capital, six were wounded, while in Dora district in the southern part of the city, three were injured. Downtown, a rocket hit a Christian home injuring one other.

Hospital officials, who requested anonymity, confirmed the casualties to the AP. Father Mukhlis called the attacks “direct oppression” against Iraqi Christians, The Guardian said.

Groups linked to al-Qaeda had claimed responsibility for more lethal attacks in the recent past that left dozens dead, but Al Jazeera said that so far, no one has claimed the recent blasts.

Maj. Gen. Ahmed Abu Ragif, deputy interior minister blamed the attacks on “terrorists who expressed hatred of Iraq in general and of Christians in particular,” the AP reported, adding that the attacks were intended to “prevent our Christian brothers to celebrate the New Year.”

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Two Christian girls, aged 12 and 16 were gang raped in separate incidents reflecting a frightening trend of abuse by Muslims, who often get away with such heinous crimes under the protection of law enforcers.

On July 22 one Christian child aged 12 was gang raped by seven to eight students from a madrassa while eight others watched. Another child aged 16 was gang raped at gunpoint by three Muslims who worked for the employer of her father, Compass Direct News said.

The 12 year old girl was dragged away by 16 boys and allegedly raped by half of them in Gujar Khan, Rawalpindi district, because the gang of boys wanted to “teach these Christians a lesson,” CDN said.

Pastor Shakeel Javed of United Pentecostal Church which the victim’s family attends said the Muslim students, who were from Jamia Islamia Madrassa, often beat up Christian children who play on the school grounds, telling them to convert or leave. They also throw stones at the church building, CDN said.

Rana Aftab, a school teacher who claims she witnessed the incident said, “Three or four Christian girls were washing dishes near a pond. These guys ran towards them, and the girls started running. One of them fell on the ground, and these madrassa students got hold of her and took her in the fields. I tried to stop them, but they were 15-16 in number,” CDN said.

Aftab said the girl was raped by about half of the boys and the others looked on as the child kept screaming for help. When they were done they left the child in the field and some villagers took her home to Pervaiz Masih, her father, CDN said.

When Masih and Aftab tried to file a complaint at the police station the officer in charge would not register their complaint. When the police station was approached by CDN the police refused to comment. However one of them later said they are being pressured by Muslim leaders and extremists, CDN said.

In the case of the 16-year-old child her father, Ghafoor Masih of Kot Sandha village, said he was working in the fields when three employees of his boss broke into his home, dragged his daughter into a room and gang raped her at gunpoint, CDN said.

The alleged criminals are Rashid Ali, Maan, and a third man, all employees of Hajji Rashid Jutt. However when Masih tried to report the crime to the Saddr police, inspector Nasseer Ahmad Khan refused to register the complaint, CDN said.

It was only through the intercession of Aslam Pervaiz Sahotra, who chairs the Bonded Labor Front and Zia-ud-Din Khokhar who chairs Equality for Minorities that a report was filed, CDN said.

But they had to raise the complaint first to the Shiekhupura district police officer who on July 28 submitted an FIR application to the Saddr Police Station, in this way pressuring Inspector Khan to file the FIR, CDN said.

On July 29 Masih was kidnapped, again by two workers of Jutt, and taken to his employer’s farmhouse where he was tortured, shackled and left in critical condition, CDN said.

Masih identified his assailants as Muhammad Irfan and Muhammad Usman. Inspector Khan stated that Jutt, Usman and Irfan have been arrested for the crime, as has Maan for the alleged rape, CDN said.

The child’s rape was decried by Joseph Francis, national director, Center for Legal Aid Assistance and Settlement saying, “Such vicious incidents are not being stopped by the government, and day by day the rate of rapes of Christian girls is escalating instead of plunging,” CDN said.

According to Sahotra and Khokhar, many similar cases are unreported because the Christian families are poor and lack the means to pursue justice, CDN said.

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Question: “What does the Bible teach about the Trinity?”

Answer:
The most difficult thing about the Christian concept of the Trinity is that there is no way to adequately explain it. The Trinity is a concept that is impossible for any human being to fully understand, let alone explain. God is infinitely greater than we are; therefore, we should not expect to be able to fully understand Him. The Bible teaches that the Father is God, that Jesus is God, and that the Holy Spirit is God. The Bible also teaches that there is only one God. Though we can understand some facts about the relationship of the different Persons of the Trinity to one another, ultimately, it is incomprehensible to the human mind. However, this does not mean the Trinity is not true or that it is not based on the teachings of the Bible.

The Trinity is one God existing in three Persons. Understand that this is not in any way suggesting three Gods. Keep in mind when studying this subject that the word Trinity is not found in Scripture. This is a term that is used to attempt to describe the triune Godthree coexistent, co-eternal Persons who make up God. Of real importance is that the concept represented by the word Trinity does exist in Scripture. The following is what Gods Word says about the Trinity:

1) There is one God (Deuteronomy 6:4; 1 Corinthians 8:4; Galatians 3:20; 1 Timothy 2:5).

2) The Trinity consists of three Persons (Genesis 1:1, 26; 3:22; 11:7; Isaiah 6:8, 48:16, 61:1; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14). In Genesis 1:1, the Hebrew plural noun Elohim is used. In Genesis 1:26, 3:22, 11:7 and Isaiah 6:8, the plural pronoun for us is used. The word Elohim and the pronoun us are plural forms, definitely referring in the Hebrew language to more than two. While this is not an explicit argument for the Trinity, it does denote the aspect of plurality in God. The Hebrew word for God, Elohim, definitely allows for the Trinity.

In Isaiah 48:16 and 61:1, the Son is speaking while making reference to the Father and the Holy Spirit. Compare Isaiah 61:1 to Luke 4:14-19 to see that it is the Son speaking. Matthew 3:16-17 describes the event of Jesus’ baptism. Seen in this passage is God the Holy Spirit descending on God the Son while God the Father proclaims His pleasure in the Son. Matthew 28:19 and 2 Corinthians 13:14 are examples of three distinct persons in the Trinity.

3) The members of the Trinity are distinguished one from another in various passages. In the Old Testament, LORD is distinguished from Lord (Genesis 19:24; Hosea 1:4). The LORD has a Son (Psalm 2:7, 12; Proverbs 30:2-4). The Spirit is distinguished from the LORD (Numbers 27:18) and from God (Psalm 51:10-12). God the Son is distinguished from God the Father (Psalm 45:6-7; Hebrews 1:8-9). In the New Testament, Jesus speaks to the Father about sending a Helper, the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17). This shows that Jesus did not consider Himself to be the Father or the Holy Spirit. Consider also all the other times in the Gospels where Jesus speaks to the Father. Was He speaking to Himself? No. He spoke to another person in the Trinitythe Father.

4) Each member of the Trinity is God. The Father is God (John 6:27; Romans 1:7; 1 Peter 1:2). The Son is God (John 1:1, 14; Romans 9:5; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:8; 1 John 5:20). The Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4; 1 Corinthians 3:16).

5) There is subordination within the Trinity. Scripture shows that the Holy Spirit is subordinate to the Father and the Son, and the Son is subordinate to the Father. This is an internal relationship and does not deny the deity of any person of the Trinity. This is simply an area which our finite minds cannot understand concerning the infinite God. Concerning the Son see Luke 22:42, John 5:36, John 20:21, and 1 John 4:14. Concerning the Holy Spirit see John 14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7, and especially John 16:13-14.

6) The individual members of the Trinity have different tasks. The Father is the ultimate source or cause of the universe (1 Corinthians 8:6; Revelation 4:11); divine revelation (Revelation 1:1); salvation (John 3:16-17); and Jesus’ human works (John 5:17, 14:10). The Father initiates all of these things.

The Son is the agent through whom the Father does the following works: the creation and maintenance of the universe (1 Corinthians 8:6; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17); divine revelation (John 1:1, 16:12-15; Matthew 11:27; Revelation 1:1); and salvation (2 Corinthians 5:19; Matthew 1:21; John 4:42). The Father does all these things through the Son, who functions as His agent.

The Holy Spirit is the means by whom the Father does the following works: creation and maintenance of the universe (Genesis 1:2; Job 26:13; Psalm 104:30); divine revelation (John 16:12-15; Ephesians 3:5; 2 Peter 1:21); salvation (John 3:6; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:2); and Jesus’ works (Isaiah 61:1; Acts 10:38). Thus the Father does all these things by the power of the Holy Spirit.

There have been many attempts to develop illustrations of the Trinity. However, none of the popular illustrations are completely accurate. The egg (or apple) fails in that the shell, white, and yolk are parts of the egg, not the egg in themselves, just as the skin, flesh, and seeds of the apple are parts of it, not the apple itself. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not parts of God; each of them is God. The water illustration is somewhat better, but it still fails to adequately describe the Trinity. Liquid, vapor, and ice are forms of water. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not forms of God, each of them is God. So, while these illustrations may give us a picture of the Trinity, the picture is not entirely accurate. An infinite God cannot be fully described by a finite illustration.

The doctrine of the Trinity has been a divisive issue throughout the entire history of the Christian church. While the core aspects of the Trinity are clearly presented in Gods Word, some of the side issues are not as explicitly clear. The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is Godbut there is only one God. That is the biblical doctrine of the Trinity. Beyond that, the issues are, to a certain extent, debatable and non-essential. Rather than attempting to fully define the Trinity with our finite human minds, we would be better served by focusing on the fact of God’s greatness and His infinitely higher nature. Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? (Romans 11:33-34).

Recommended Resource:
Making Sense of the Trinity: Three Crucial Questions by Millard Erickson/a> and The Forgotten Trinity by James White.

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Last year an Egyptian girl wrote a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama from a Coptic Christian  website.

She told the president that Muslims in the United States are treated much better than Copts in Egypt, Compass Direct News (CDN) reported.

Dina Maher Ahmad Mo’otahssem and her father have been on the run for two years due to religious persecution in Egypt.

Dina Maher Ahmad Mo’otahssem, 16, has been in hiding since 2008 with her father, Maher Ahmad El-Mo’otahssem Bellah El-Gohary.  They have suffered constant persecution whenever people discover their identities, CDN said.

Dina asked Obama to pressure the Egyptian government to ensure religious rights, and expressed hope that she and her father could migrate to the United States, CDN reported.

Last week Dina and her father lived in a tiny, two-bedroom apartment in an unidentified city in Egypt.  The floor was littered with grime and trash. Clumps of dust and used water bottles were everywhere.  El-Gohary had taped over the locks and the inside of windows and doors to guard against eavesdroppers and intruders.

He taped over all the drain holes of the sinks and the shower so no one could pump in natural gas at night.  When the neighbors learned he was a Christian, they threw rocks and pebbles at his home, enough to litter the porch.  El-Gohary couldn’t open a window because rocks might get thrown in, according to CDN.

Whenever he leaves, he padlocks the door, wraps it with a small plastic bag and melts the bag to the lock with a match.  But he rarely leaves the place because it is not safe to go out.

Last month while walking to a market with Dina, someone poured acid over her jacket.  When El-Gohary saw it sizzle and dissolve he immediately ripped it off of her and threw it away before she was hurt, CDN said.

He can’t work and relies on other Christians to bring him food, water and the occasional donation. He cannot count on his own family for help.  When the food runs out, he has to brave going outside.

El-Gohary can’t attend a church more than once, nor can they go to a supermarket more than once.  He has been a Christian for 36 years, but he was forced to go into hiding after August 2008, because he sued the national government to allow him to change the religion listed on his state-issued ID from Islam to Christianity, according to CDN.

El-Gohary didn’t want his daughter to be forced to take Islamic education classes or have her declared an “apostate” by Egyptian Islamic authorities if she decided to stay a Christian into adulthood.  This is why he asked for the ID change.

Dina is required by law to possess an ID card, which is used for everything from opening a bank account to receiving medical care. The ID also determines whether Egyptians are subject to Islamic civil courts.  Dina is considered to be a Muslim because her father was born a Muslim, CDN said.

Conversion

El-Gohary became a Christian after he read the account of Jesus meeting a woman caught committing adultery.  He was touched by the level of mercy that Jesus showed her, CDN said.

El-Gohary said. “The basis of Christianity is love and forgiveness, unlike Islam, where it is based on revenge, fighting and war.”  He also said of the two religions’ versions of heaven, that the Islamic heaven is about physical pleasure, while for Christians it is about being with God, CDN reported.

El-Gohary was forced to hide because the State Council, a consultative body of Egypt’s Administrative Court, charged him with apostasy, the penalty for which is death, CDN said.  The case is still ongoing.

El-Gohary believes that he and his daughter are being used to set an example to other Muslims who want to convert.  Also, he thinks they fear that if he is allowed to leave the country, he will talk about how Egypt persecutes Copts.

He said, “We are trapped in our own country without even the rights that animals have.”  When the mosque across the street learned of his identity and of his case, they began to blast messages from their minaret megaphones on how to deal with Christians, CDN reported.

The imam shouted, “Do not shake their hands. Do not go into their homes. Do not eat their food.”  Since he has become a Christian, El-Gohary has been beaten, forcibly detained, endured death threats and poverty.

Still, he and Dina have no regrets about having become Christian, and they have no dreams to become Muslim again, the CDN said.

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