Africa, the Lausanne Congresses, and Evangelization

By Dr Zeinab Abdelaziz
While the Synod of Bishops for the Middle-East was under way at the Vatican in October 2010, another eetin! of so e ",200 e#an!elical issionaries, or!ani$ed by the %o ittee for World E#an!eli$ation, was ta&in! place at the sa e ti e in %ape 'own, South (frica, also with the sa e hysterical )e#an!eli$ation of the world* the e, or ore precisely as it was stated, a conference )for dealin! with the challen!es and opportunities that the %hurch is facin! with re!ard to world e#an!eli$ation*+ 'wo ter s that deli it the breadth of the dual tra,ectory that the %hurch en#isions- on the one hand, to face up to the challen!es posed by .sla and Musli s/ and, on the other hand, all the opportunities a#ailable that allow it to seep into Musli a,ority countries0 'he year 2010 was particularly chosen to celebrate the centenary of the World Missionary %onference held in Edinbur!h in 1110 under the direction of 2r 3ohn Mott0 (lready one century before hi , Willia %arey, the father of odern issionaries, had proposed to hold in 1410 a %onference in %ape 'own0 'wo centuries of plannin!, of tactics and subterfu!es to %hristiani$e (frica, to uproot the non-%hristian people fro their faith, to a&e the in!ur!itate a %hristianity whose anipulations ha#e been e5posed and blac&listed by its own followers0 6e#erend 2ou!las Birdsall, 7resident of the 8ausanne %o ittee for World E#an!eli$ation 98%WE:, ad its that- )'here is no doubt that we ha#e reached a new era in %hristianity around the world and that we need a strate!ic plan as to how we should continue to spread the !ospel throu!hout the !lobe*0 While the new 8%WE director denounces )the drastic chan!es that ha#e ta&en place in %hristianity in the last century* without howe#er sayin! anythin! else, it is not difficult thou!h to cite as e5a ples- the Vatican %ouncil .. disco#erin! that the sacred te5ts were written by en, that they contained the i perfect and the obsolete, and then absol#ed the 3ews of deicide/ the scandalous stories of priests in (frica/ the %hurch;s inter#ention in ilitary coups, in the foundin! of Solidarnosc, in the eradication of the So#iet <nion, in the 6wanda !enocide, and ore recently the case of paedophilia which, accordin! to news fro %anada, ha#e caused two illion #icti s, as if so e priests had no other function but to indul!e in the cri inal destruction of innocents or to be a achine that denaturalises their life000 only few e5a ples of what 6e#0 Birdsall calls )the drastic chan!es*000 =et, the hallucinatin! i pudence to e#an!eli$e the world !oes on re!ardless+ 'he e bers of the World E#an!elical (lliance 9WE(: too& part in the plannin! of 8ausanne ..., the selection of participants, and the support of the theolo!ical and strate!ic reflection with re!ard to i ple entation0 'hat is what e5plains the broad ran!e of participants, a on!st the !roups of scholars, pastors and e#an!elists, issionaries, %hristians fro the world or wor&, %EOs, politicians and ci#il ser#ants, business en, donors, directors fro outside the ecclesiastical sphere,
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directors and senior officials fro inistries that speciali$e in culture and fine arts, professors, researchers, historians0 >uite a re#ealin! ish ash that has nothin! to do with ere reli!iosity0 .t is interestin! to trac& the history of the 8ausanne conferences in order to see to what e5tent that it is not only an )obsession with e#an!eli$in! the world* but an endless succession of plots under the !uise of e#an!eli$ation000 .n 11?" the first .nternational %on!ress on World E#an!eli$ation was held in 8ausanne, under the na e )8ausanne .*, to plan the i ple entation of the si5teen docu ents issued by Vatican .., which all re#ol#ed in one way or another around the e#an!eli$ation of the world0 Billy @raha , with 2,?00 e#an!elical leaders fro 1A0 countries, had as ain ob,ecti#e in that !atherin! to address the practical and theolo!ical side of e#an!eli$ation0 'he outco e of the eetin!s was a docu ent titled )the 8ausanne %o#enant*, a docu ent that !a#e the necessary theolo!ical details for the e#an!eli$ation of the world, co prisin! of fifteen articles, besides an introduction and a conclusion0 ( perusal of the titles of these fifteen ite s re#eals to what e5tent e#an!eli$ation is used as a prete5t for an unacceptable interference especially fro an institution that clai s to be reli!ious@od;s plan/ authority and power of the bible/ the uniBue and uni#ersal %hrist/ the nature of e#an!eli$ation/ social responsibility of the %hristians/ cooperation in e#an!eli$ation/ collaboration of the churches in e#an!eli$ation/ ur!ency of e#an!eli$ation/ e#an!eli$ation and culture/ education and authority/ spiritual conflicts/ freedo and persecution/ the power of the Coly Spirit/ the co in! bac& of %hrist0 Whereas the conclusion specifies- )We are co itted with a sole n co#enant with @od, and with each other, to pray, to draw plans and to wor& to!ether for the e#an!eli$ation of the whole world0 We call on others to ,oin us*+ Do need to add that this docu ent ser#es as a state ent of faith for hundreds of or!ani$ations around the world0 .t is in Manila, in the 7hilippines, where 8ausanne .. was held in 1141, with the participation of ore than E,000 leaders fro 1?0 countries0 ( !atherin! that ended with reassertin! the co it ent of 8ausanne . and its call- )7roclai %hrist until he co es bac&* and )%allin! on the whole %hurch to ta&e the whole !ospel to the whole world*000 ( lon! anifesto of so e twenty pa!es, fro which it is useful to note so e of these clauses with their seBuence nu ber, to show that it is not ,ust a Buestion of e#an!elisation?0 We affir that all other reli!ions and ideolo!ies are not other ways of !oin! to @od, and that hu an spirituality, outside of sal#ation throu!h %hrist, leads to ,ud!e ent and not to @od, because %hrist is the only way0 140 We affir that it is our duty to study the society in which we li#e in order to understand its structures, #alues and needs, and therefore to de#elop an appropriate issionary strate!y0 110 We affir that the e#an!eli$ation of the world is an ur!ent tas& and that it is possible to reach populations that ha#e not yet been reached0 We therefore fully co it to de#ote oursel#es to this tas& with a new deter ination durin! the last decade of the 20th century0 200 We affir our solidarity with those who suffer for the !ospel, and we want to prepare oursel#es to face up to such e#entuality0 We are also co itted to wor& for reli!ious and political freedo e#erywhere0
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210 We affir that @od calls the whole %hurch to ta&e the whole !ospel to the whole world0 We are therefore co itted to faithfully proclai Ci , as fro now and at any cost, until the co in! bac& of 3esus0 So e fifteen years later, in 200", started the preparations for 8ausanne ... by the Foru for World E#an!eli$ation, in 'hailand, with the participation of 1,A00 people, to address the issues concernin! the e#an!eli$ation of the !lobe+ 'wo years later, it was the preparation to en!a!e a new !eneration in the %hristian leadership0 More than A00 youn! %hristian leaders fro 120 countries !ot to!ether to initiate the =oun! 8eaders (sse bly in Manila in 200G0 One year later, in 200?, it was the !atherin! of E#an!elical 8eaders in Budapest, with E,G00 leaders fro G0 countries of the world to plan et obili$e resources to plan 8ausanne ..., which too& place in October 2010, al ost at the sa e ti e as the Synod of Bishops for the Middle-East0 6e#0 2ou!las Birdsall e5plains what see s to preoccupy the %hurch- )'he Buestions we are facin! today, such as (.2S and the theories that are increasin!ly hostile to %hristianity, are #ery different fro the Buestions discussed in 11?"*000 .t is worth notin! that, four years later, in 11?4, another eBually i portant con!ress too& place in %olorado, in the <S(, to study the i ple entation of the decrees of 8ausanne ., the latter itself an atte pt to i ple ent decrees fro Vatican .., on the sa e i o#able the e of world e#an!eli$ation, and by the sa e to&en, the eradication of .sla 0 One hundred and fifty e5perts !ot to!ether to study "0 research reports which are nothin! less than forty tools of effecti#e and destructi#e infiltrations of the Musli world0 Followin! 8ausanne .. 91141:, around EA0 partnerships were for ed between churches and #arious %hristian associations, throu!hout the world, to unify their effort a!ainst .sla , under the title of world e#an!eli$ation0 Besides, it was 3ean 7aul .. who stated it, as is clearly described in the boo& titled The Vatican Geo olitics!!! .f, apparently, 8ausanne ... pretends to be loo&in! for a rede pti#e response, as they say, to the challen!es facin! the !ospel, such as (.2S, po#erty, en#iron ental concerns, !lobali$ation, urbani$ation and other proble s, the only and i o#able issue for the %hurch re ains the e#an!eli$ation of the world0 'his is why the third day of 8ausanne ... was set aside for the study of all the possible ways, and i possible ones, to intrude on and destabili$e the Musli s fro their faith0 We should also draw attention that, since the first World E#an!eli$ation %on!ress in 8ausanne in 11?", there ha#e been do$ens of preparatory conferences throu!hout the world, both at international and re!ional le#els, such as the %onsultation on World E#an!eli$ation 97attaya 1140:/ the %onference of =oun! 8eaders 9Sin!apore 114?:/ 8ausanne .. 9Manila 1141:/ the Foru for World E#an!eli$ation 97attaya 200":/ the Meetin! of =oun! 8eaders 9Malaysia 200G:0 8ausanne . was also the inspiration for any networ&s and re!ional conferences, such as the (sia 8ausanne %o ittee for E#an!eli$ation/ the %hinese %oordination %entre of World E#an!elis and international consultations on the e#an!eli$ation of 3ews0 .t is worth notin! that this is one of the rare occasions where the e#an!eli$ation of 3ews is treated directly or loudly so+ .n Section E of the Manila declaration we can distinctly read- )So e pretend that the co#enant of @od with (braha e5e pts the e bers of the 3ewish people fro acceptin! 3esus as their Messiah0 We affir that the 3ews need 3esus as uch as e#eryone else0 .t will be a &ind of anti-se itis and a lac& of loyalty towards %hrist if we depart fro the Dew 'esta ent
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odel accordin! to which the !ospel addresses the )3ews first*0 We therefore re,ect the assertion that the 3ews ha#e a particular co#enant which would ob#iate the faith in 3esus %hrist*0 'he sa e section E finishes with a #ery re#ealin! para!raph- ).n the past, we ha#e so eti es adopted a !uilty attitude towards the followers of other faiths- isunderstandin!, arro!ance, conte pt and so eti es e#en hostility0 We repent fro this0 De#ertheless, we are co itted to a&e a positi#e testi ony and without any co pro ise for the uniBue character of our 8ord, his life, his death and his resurrection, in all aspects of our e#an!elis , includin! in the dialo!ue with other reli!ions*0 'he pled!e of 8ausanne ..., or %ape 'own 2010, announced on 2"-10-2010, is a call to action0 ( renewal and an affir ation of pled!es already ade re!ardin! the #ision and ob,ecti#es of the 8ausanne Mo#e ent0 'his i plies that they do not abandon their co it ent )to ta&e to the whole world witness to 3esus %hrist and all his teachin!*, and that they do not abandon their co it ent to the o#e ent;s ain docu ents, na ely- The Lausanne Covenant 911?": and The "anila "anifesto 91141:0 Bein! careful to add that they hold on to i utable realities, na ely- that hu an bein!s are lost, that only the church can sa#e the / the !ospel is a !lad tidin! to i pose on the world/ the ission of the church !oes on0 'o which they add their co it ent to the Micah 2eclaration 91111: on inte!ral ission, which is the procla ation and de onstration of the !ospel e#erywhere0 (n inte!ral ission of the church that ai s at )en!raftin! churches and to !i#e to local churches the capacity to transfor their co unities*0 Dotin! that this Micah 2eclaration co es fro the Micah Detwor&, which !roups ore than EE0 acti#e %hristian or!ani$ations fro 41 countries, whose ob,ecti#es are- increase their capacity and pro ote the inte!ral ission0 .s it appropriate to add that the e#an!eli$ation bud!et in 2001 was in the re!ion of HE?0 billionI+ =ou do not spend such a su for the si ple lo#e of %hrist, but for the ineral deposits that are found in (frica and for which the Vatican had, few onths earlier, already de#oted a synod to e5tirpate the 0 %an there be ore arro!ance than wantin! to uproot, eli inate or destroy the only reli!ion which has ne#er &nown the charlatanistic a#atars that %hristianity and its anipulated te5ts ha#e been sub,ected toI Dobody i!nores that the >uran is the only re#ealed sacred te5t that has not chan!ed a sin!le bit, and which has only been re#ealed after the 3ews de#iated fro onotheis , &illed the prophets and too& the calf+ 3esus, as he clearly says, was only sent to the lost sheep of the house of .srael0 When the ecclesiastical institution de#iated by deifyin! hi in the First %ouncil of Dicaea in E2A, and then sun& into polytheis by i posin! the trinity, .sla was re#ealed0 Why is it difficult to understand this pure and si ple truthI Why stal& people or e#en uproot entire populations to i pose on the historical, political or lo!ical contradictionsI .s it not ore hu ane to stop these reli!ious wars that are deliberately fabricated, wanted and led by a cabal daubed with !rotesBue habits, who ha#e lost their i pact on followers, and to preoccupy with the real proble s which threaten the whole of planet earth, instead of snarin! .sla with the ha er of the %atholics and the an#il of the e#an!elists in order to e5tirpate itI+