Posted on 09/05/2015 4:21:57 AM PDT by NYer
In addition to the waves of Middle Eastern and African refugees flooding into Europe, there apparently is a smaller wave: Muslim conversions to Christianity.
The Associated Press visited an Evangelical church in Berlin, Germany’s capital, to find a congregation that includes “hundreds of mostly Iranian and Afghan asylum seekers.”
Most say their intentions are sincere, AP said, but others are raising doubts.
“There’s no overlooking the fact that the decision will also greatly boost their chances of winning asylum by allowing them to claim they would face persecution if sent home” the wire service noted.
AP pointed out that Germany treats refugees differently, depending on their situation back home. Those fleeing the Syrian civil war have a better chance of receiving asylum. “The situation is more complicated for asylum seekers from Iran or Afghanistan, which are seen as more stable,” AP said. Those are the countries from which most of the new parishioners hail. “In recent years, roughly 40-50 percent from those two countries have been allowed to stay in the country, with many of those getting only temporary permission to remain.
So it may boost the chance of an Afghan or an Iranian if he can convince authorities that he will face persecution in his homeland. Conversion to Christianity from Islam can be punishable by death or imprisonment in Iran and Afghanistan.
For Gottfried Martens, the pastor of Trinity Church, however, motivation is unimportant.
Many, he said, are so taken by the Christian message that it changes their lives. And he estimates that only about 10 percent of converts do not return to church after christening….
“I know there are — again and again — people coming here because they have some kind of hope regarding their asylum,” Martens said. “I am inviting them to join us because I know that whoever comes here will not be left unchanged.”
Yet, Martens’ church has gotten a reputation in distant parts: the pastor baptizes Muslims after a three-month crash course—and helps with asylum applications. His congregation has grown from 150 just two years to more than 600 parishioners now—with a seemingly unending flow of new refugees. He says he has at least another 80 people—mostly from Iran and a few Afghans—waiting to be baptized.
One young Iranian woman said she was convinced most people had joined the church only to improve their chances for asylum. And Vesam Heydari criticized many of the other Iranian church members, saying they were making it much harder for “real, persecuted Christians” like himself to get approved for asylum. He came to Germany after failing to win refugee status in Norway. He converted there in 2009.
“The majority of Iranians here are not converting out of belief,” Heydari said. “They only want to stay in Germany.”
Other Christian communities across Germany, among them Lutheran churches in Hannover and the Rhineland, have also reported growing numbers of Iranians converting to Christianity, AP said.
Germany’s Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said it does not comment on the reasons individual applicants give when they apply for asylum, or on how many people receive refugee status in Germany based on religious persecution.
Whatever their religion, migrants and refugees should be welcomed as brothers and sisters, not seen as a burden, said Father Matthew Gardzinski, in charge of the migrants section for the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples.
From a Catholic perspective, migrants should above all be recognized as persons created “in the image and likeness of God, which is the basis of human dignity,” Father Gardzinski told Catholic News Agency.
Ping!
Allah enslaves, Jesus saves.
While this mass immigration will create trouble in the German social order just by its sheer numbers, to see so many leaving the cult of Satan for Christ is very encouraging.
Liars who will say anything to be given a taste of the west.
And we see the Hand of God at work...
“Liars who will say anything to be given a taste of the west.”
I get the concern, but how do we know they’re lying?
bttt
"...the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice..." Philippians 1:17-18
>> to see so many leaving the cult of Satan for Christ is very encouraging.
PRAY — that they’ll “come to JESUS for the freedom, and stay with JESUS for the salvation”!
Wait, what?
Everything is great and Iran is cool with Europeans now.
Trustworthy, open markets, sanctions are lifting, and leaders you can sit down and talk to, for weeks and weeks at a time.
Why do they have refugees?
Converting to Christianity nullifies their chances of being accepted in America as refugees. From the ME only Moslems and possibly homosexuals get that status for America.I believe that policy dates back to Bush.
I hope they are actually converting. For some, at least, it is surely no more than a tactic.
...I get the concern, but how do we know they’re lying?...
Speaking of Christianity, did ‘t Jesus say something about not judging?
Amen!!!!
I don’t believer they’re converting for a minute. Taquiyyah, anyone?
Are you nuts? They are faking it! Take a look at the refugees - they are all men and dead children. The dead kids are there to provide sympathy.
They are Muslims with a few Christians thrown in.
Agreed.
Consider the landscape. These refugees are leaving everything behind and as we can question their motives, one must be considered in the big picture. Having lived in Iran from 72-74, I know of the differing factions in certain parts of the country who are persecuted, horribly, I might add. I have seen it with my own eyes, even then.
So now that Obama has unleashed the last hope of getting rid of the Mullahs there, we are surprised by people getting the H out before it gets even worse?
True, there are ill-willed interlopers and always will be, but when you are facing decapitation or hanging for not subscribing to the latest Islamic edicts, when given the free will chance at a conversion their motives are questioned?
If they are nefarious, it will show up quickly as in the 10% who don’t come back to that pastor’s church as he has noticed. They know who they are, but those who keep coming back are cognoscente enough to know they will be viewed suspiciously for a long time considering what it is they have escaped from.
“Everything is great and Iran is cool with Europeans now.”
Consider our own politically elite and then multiply that by 100 and you have the politically elite in Europe. It is a caste system, pure and simple, and the elite make all the decisions for the serfs.
Exactly what we are racing towards in this country and you want to lump all Europeans into a single bag?
How do you know that “if they are nefarious” it will show up quickly? The muzzies are far smarter and more patient than we are. They can go twenty years pretending to be a Christian before the first act of terror shows up. I’m shocked by the gullibility of some of the posters today.
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