December 31, 2009
The year 2009 brought hundreds of stories and movements to bear on global Christianity. Here are the faces, places, and movements the Crosswalk.com editors believe most impacted Christians around the world.
1. Iran election protests catch fire
Thousands of Iranian youth marched Tehran's streets to protest an allegedly fraudulent election in June. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government took extreme measures to silence protesters, but only brought international attention to political and religious suppression. The state's ongoing crackdown on Christians and political dissidents leaked out via Twitter and social networks, despite government censorship.
Read more:
Protests Continue to Spread in Iranian Election Aftermath
Freedom's Martyr: The Power of an Image
2. Rifqa Bary's fear forces a second look at honor killings
A teen convert from Islam to Christianity forces Americans to acknowledge the reality of Muslim honor killings. Sixteen-year-old Rifqa Bary ran away from her Muslim parents in Ohio after her father found out about her conversion and allegedly threatened to kill her. Whether motivated by teen angst, naïveté or legitimate concerns, Rifqa's frightened face brought honor killings out of the Middle East.
Read more:
The Case of Rifqa Bary: An Honor Killing in America?
Fleeing Sharia Law in America?
3. The Manhattan Declaration controversy stretches the limits of ecumenical cooperation
The Manhattan Declaration reignited questions of theological versus moral cooperation between Protestants, Catholics, and Orthodox Christians. The 4,000-word document vowed civil disobedience, if necessary, to protect life, traditional marriage, and religious freedom. Signers included BreakPoint's Chuck Colson and the Southern Baptist Convention's Albert Mohler, but the document was rebuffed for its "common faith" language by evangelicals such as R.C. Sproul and John MacArthur.
Read more:
The Manhattan Declaration: Defending Life, Marriage and Freedom
The Manhattan Declaration Controversy
4. Denomination fractures extend beyond the Anglican Communion
The question of gay clergy split another denomination in 2009. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America no sooner voted to allow openly homosexual clergy in August than a CORE group announced their intention to break away. Anglicans and Episcopalians continued their not-always-amicable parting after the election of a lesbian bishop in California, while Pope Benedict XVI opened the door for disenchanted Anglicans to return to the Catholic Church.
Read more:
Lutheran Dissidents Say New Church Body in the Works
Wearing the Disguise of Faithfulness
Vatican Opens Door for Disenchanted Anglicans
5. Disasters strike Southeast Asia
In September, a triad of disasters killed hundreds in Southeast Asia while relief groups scrambled to help. Millions were displaced by the Samoa tsunami (at least 100 dead), back-to-back earthquakes in Indonesia (700 dead, 1,000 missing), and typhoons in Philippines (300 dead). Nearly 4 million people were affected in Samoa and Philippines. The Indonesian quakes devastated infrastructure in the city of Padang, Sumatra, bringing the city of 900,000 people to a grinding halt.
Read more:
Recent Typhoons, Tsunamis Devastate Developing Countries
Christian Relief Groups Tread Carefully in Indonesia
