|
|
You are here :
Home / Resources / Current News Stories / Is Something Blowing in the Wind?
June 10, 2009
By John M. Lindner, D.Miss.
First India restored a secular party to
power. This last week liberalism won in Lebanon. The press is alive
with news of opposition to Ahmadinejad in Iran, and Indonesia’s
presidential elections will take place in July. Also, Ukraine has some
decisions to make. Is something blowing in the wind?
A year of elections
While the U.S. anticipates only state elections in 2009, the year is seeing marked directions in Parliamentary and presidential elections in key countries around the world. We cannot help but believe the prayers of Christians are having their effect.
India’s elections
Christians in India and around the world rejoiced when the results of the April elections were made known. The BJP, which had campaigned long and hard—and had waged a campaign of terror—to ensure a victory for its right-wing agenda was roundly defeated. Instead, the Congress Party, with a long history of concern for the downtrodden—and a secular nation—was strongly elected. It, with a much smaller but sympathetic United Progressive Alliance, regained control and reelected Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister. Indian voters voiced their opposition to Hindu fanaticism and their preference for a non-sectarian society and government. This was detailed in our May 14 newsletter.
Indonesia tempered
Also in April Parliamentary elections were held in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country. The party of incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) gained the votes they needed in April parliamentary elections in order to keep SBY on the ballot for presidential elections in July. Some were concerned that SBY passed a number of laws put forward by Islamic parties to gain power for his party. The good news is that SBY surprised everyone in mid-May by choosing Bank of Indonesia governor Boediono to be his running mate, thus somewhat marginalizing the Islamists. We anxiously await the July presidential elections, and pray the same “common sense” that prevailed in India will prevail in Indonesia, as well.
Lebanon’s reprieve
Meanwhile, the world held its breath waiting to see how Parliamentary elections in Lebanon would turn out. While the election of the 115 Shiite, Sunni and Druze seats seemed to be a foregone conclusion, Christians held the swing votes. Around 70% of the Christians were thought to favor the Free Patriotic Movement, which signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Hezballah in February 2006. Some feared the ascendance of the “March 8 Alliance” backed by Iran.
Surprise! The June 7 elections gave 71 seats to the Arab and U.S.-backed Sunni-Druze-Christian “March 14 Alliance”—that’s one more than they had before. Iran is still a strong influence, but it didn't gain any ground.
That doesn’t mean that the hard-line Hezbollah trend in Lebanon has been neutralized. As Elizabeth Kendal, Australian analyst and writer for the Australian Evangelical Alliance Religious Liberty Commission, says, the election “only applied the brakes.” Kendal believes permanent peace can be secured for Lebanon—a once majority Christian nation and still the only Arab nation not officially Muslim—only if there is a genuine revival among resident Christians (Isa. 2:2-4). You can read her comments at the AEA website.
Iranian unrest
Currently in the news is the unrest in Iran. Voters there go to the polls this Friday, and President Ahmadinejad is being strongly contested by former Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi. NBC News yesterday said the younger generation and strong middle class are fervently opposed to Amenidijad’s policies and suggested the election was a toss-up. Keep your eye on the news and your knees in prayer for tomorrow’s election.
Ukraine’s holdout
The economic recession has hit all countries hard, not just the U.S. and Europe. Countries of the former Soviet Union are among those feeling the pinch. Some of them no longer have banks that function, and credit cards are useless. Ukraine still has banks that function, but is facing some tough decisions.
There is a strong undercurrent to bring the old USSR back together in the guise of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The CIS was formed when leaders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine met in Belarus on December 8, 1991. Prior to that, on September 6, Russia had recognized the independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Soon, the remaining 12 members of the former USSR signed on.
Now Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his puppet, President Dimitry Medeyev, are tightening the reins on CIS states by offering economic benefits on terms that would ally them unswervingly with Russia. In February, due to pressure from Putin, Kyrgyzstan closed the Manas Air Base, the only air base available to allied forces in Central Asia for supply flights into Afghanistan. Only Georgia and Ukraine have so far resited Putin’s terms. Click here to read the Wikipedia article on the dispute over gas between Russia and Ukraine earlier this year. Will these countries continue to lean to the West, or will they revert back to Mother Russia? And will Russia, now experiencing relative freedom, move to counter U.S. and other Western interests? Time will tell. Evangelical believers generally tend to look favorably on Western influences, while Orthodox Christians favor the “good old days” with Mother Russia. Your prayers will have their effect.
Prayers for the nations
It’s an exciting time to be a Christian. We see the prayers of Christians affecting the nations. Now is no time to slack off. We hope the respect for human rights and religious freedom we have seen in India and Lebanon will continue to “blow in the wind” in these other elections. Let us continue to pray for liberty, prosperity, and the advance of the gospel by the continued blowing of God’s wind, the Holy Spirit.
|
|
|
