현재위치 : HOME > 선교정보보기  작성자  관리자  첨부파일      자료구분    작성일  2007-05-01  제목  New Wiki Format!! AD 2025 Buddhist Monitor  주제어키워드    국가    자료출처  전방개척선교 2007년 5/6월호  성경본문    조회수  14998  추천수  41 Buddhism In Europe The 20 countries of Eastern Europe and Eurasia contain 188 least-reached people groups. 66.8% of Serbia and Montenegro’s population - which is almost 7 million people - are considered least reached, and Less than 5% of the rest adhere to any form of Christianity. Russia has over 12 million least-reached people in 72 different people groups. A decade of a democracy mixed with greed, crime, self-seeking politicians, a pervasive mafia and a decline of the quality of life has many in Russia looking back longingly to the former days of certainty during Communist dictatorship. The Marxist economies in Eastern Europe hurt national infrastructures, the ecology and the work ethic of the people there. With the gradual recovery of most former Communist states and the growth of the European Union, we see ethnocentrism and religion becoming more important and even causing political confrontations in this area. The church overall in Eastern Europe and Eurasia is small and struggling. However, rays of hope shine in places like the Ukraine. Buddhism began to influence Europe after Alexander the Great’s conquest of Northwest India in the 3rd century B.C. when Greek colonists in the region began to adopt Indian Buddhism and mixed it with aspects of their own beliefs and culture, resulting in a sect called Greco-Buddhism. Emperor Ashoka sent Buddhist missionaries to the Hellenistic world where they established themselves in places such as Alexandria. Since the 1870s, interest in Buddhism began to grow in academic circles in modern Europe. As more and more contact developed through travel to the East and immigrants from Buddhist peoples in the East, Europe has become more and more intrigued with Buddhism. Buddhists today actively promote their beliefs to an interested audience, particularly in the post-Christian environment that exists in Europe today. However, only Russia and Austria recognize Buddhism as an “official” religion (though not a “state religion”) of all the nations in Europe. The Kalmyk people’s 17th century migration into Europe made them today’s only traditionally Buddhist nation west of the Urals. The other two largest Buddhist groups in this region are the Buryat and the Tuvinian peoples, both living in Siberia near Mongolia.Otherwise, the Buddhist groups here are migrant communities which have settled here. For Further Reading About Buddhism in Europe : * The Buddhist World : Spread of Buddhism to the West * Buddhism in Europe * Lotus Sutra Buddhism in Europe * Promoting Buddhism in Europe New Testimony Testimony Of Yulia Newby, Buryat Believer My name is Yulia Newby. I was born in Irkutsk to a Buryat family, a people group related to Mongolians. I can speak both Buryat and Russian which is the predominant area language. When I was 5 years old my family moved to Ulan Ude, the capital of Buryatia. We lived a normal Russian Soviet life there, devoid of any religion at all. Only old-fashioned, uneducated people believed in a God. I had heard of the great religions, but they meant nothing to my family. My first exposure to religion came one Buddhist New Year when we went as a family to the datsan (Buddhist Shamanist temple)--since everyone else was going to see what it was like. It was not an enjoyable experience-- all very dark, dirty and mystical with strange smells. My first encounter with a Christian came a couple of years later, attending a pioneer sports camp. A red-haired girl my age also attended, and we somehow found out she believed in God. We ridiculed her, making her confused and miserable. My next experience came in the 8th grade, when an American missionary teacher came to teach English a couple of times a week in my school. She also invited us to a youth group. Although they knew the group was Christian, our teachers encouraged us to go to learn English. Of course we went to see "real Americans." At first, I only went to enjoy the fellowship and getting to know other people. However, at this place first place I first heard about God, what He did, and who He was. Gradually the people there helped me to see God. They were different, not only because they were Americans, but because they believed in God. They were kind, full of joy. As I learned more about God, I began to understand His love for me. At every meeting we were invited to come forward and receive Christ. Although I was too shy to go up front, after several weeks, I finally asked an American girl friend to help me pray. At the age of 14, I received Jesus. It was a very good day! I immediately became involved in a home group. That was the beginning of my church, a cell group church. My life was changed. I could feel God's presence and love in my life. Later I also started leading a cell group myself. As I tell this story at 27 years of age, I can look back and see how God comforted me during those early days. Sometimes it was hard to be a believer and face the ridicule. Very few openly believed in God. But I had found hope, the only real Truth and love-- I found it in God! I asked God about my study plans after high school, and He showed me I was to stay in Ulan Ude to study. In university, I studied English and French, preparing to teach. God began to show me that He wanted me to be a missionary during my five years of studies. There I met my future husband, a missionary with Campus Crusade student ministry in Irkutsk. After we married, we began our ministry together here, working with students from all over Siberia and all over the Far East to help them know who Jesus is. Here we meet many kinds of people, most of whom are without God or the Truth. We are also excited to be a part of our church in Irkutsk, a very active and mission-minded church who wants to reach all the nations, great and small. Our city of Irkutsk and all of Siberia are full of people who are willing to try or do anything to find true life--except to try God. Building relationships with them takes a long time. Pray for their hearts to be soft and responsive to the Truth of the gospel. Pray now for all the 188 least-reached peoples in Eastern Europe and Eurasia: * DELIVERANCE FROM ADDICTIONS _ Pray God sets the captives free from bondages to addictions such as alcohol and drug abuse, sexual addictions, pornography, and gambling in order that they may be as lights in the world, examples of God's grace and goodness in Jesus. * HOUND OF HEAVEN _ Pray that the Holy Spirit searches for the lost of the remaining 188 least-reached peoples like the Buryat and demonstrates to them God's goodness that leads them to repentance. * OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD _ Pray God shows believers how to overcome evil such as greed, self-seeking, organized crime, and degeneration with His goodness and love that His kingdom may rapidly grow. * ALL THINGS TO ALL MEN _ Pray that the Church understands Paul's command to become "all things to all men" that they might win some in order to bring the gospel in a way that can be understood and accepted. * INVISIBLE MEANS OF SUPPORT _ Pray God to pour out His heavenly provision through those whose hearts are completely His so that He supplies and multiplies all resources needed for reaching those who have not yet heard the good news. New People Profile Buryat(Boo-ree-aht)People “The [Buryat] woman proudly invites us into her cabin and offers us fresh milk from her cow. We all hesitate knowing that the milk is not pasteurized, but how can we turn her down? So we drink this wonderful, creamy, ice cold milk. A new experience. It is so rich and sweet it tastes like ice cream. It was also interesting to see her refrigerator, a room in the permafrost.” Thus reads an entry from a visitor to the Buryat people of northern China. They obtain excellent milk from their herds, but they also eat a lot of meat, sometimes cooked into a dish called pozas. The Buryat people are nomadic herders of sheep, goats and camels. As Tibetan Buddhists, they consider the Dalai Lama to be their spiritual leader. The Buryats have been Buddhists for many centuries. They continued to secretly practice their religion after communist China outlawed all religions in 1949. Russian Orthodox missionaries won a few Buryats to the Lord between 1818 and 1840, but today the vast majority of them are still in bondage to shamanism and Tibetan Buddhism. [Source: GPD, April 18, 2006] Pray that God would send faithful workers to reach out to this people group. May the work of translating the Bible into the Buryat language be completed. Pray that God would create a spiritual hunger among the Buryats. Pray that they will soon seek out and embrace the One who wants to be the Shepherd of all nations.-WK Buddhist Kalmyks Of Russia This is the only Buddhist people group in Europe! The 100,000 Kalmyks represent a piece of the Tibetan World in a Russian republic that straddles Europe and Asia. They have a turbulent and unique history. Four hundred years ago the Mongols forcefully swept across Western China. Some of them settled in what is now Kalmykia in Russia. These people adopted their own unique form of Tibetan Buddhism. They formed an alliance with the Russian Czar. During World War II, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin grew suspicious of the Kalmyks and exiled them to Siberia. When the Kalmyks returned home in 1957, their Buddhist temples were gone. Under harsh life in Siberia, their Buddhist culture was gone as well. Now, under the leadership of a very wealthy elected president, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, they are experiencing a Buddhist revival complete with the building of many Tibetan Buddhist temples. Tibetan Buddhism is turning the hearts of their youths back to their roots. The Kalmyks are also pondering whether to allow Ilyumzhinov to gain more power, or try to establish a Western style democracy. [Source: Global Prayer Digest, Oct. 18, 2005] Pray that the Kalmyk people will hear of the matchless Jesus Christ and turn their hearts to Him instead of following the spiritual ways of their forefathers.-CH Tibetan Buddhist Tuvin People Of Mongolia And Russia The crowd gathered near the market to see and hear the Tuvin singers, noted for their unique style of music, khomeii, as if singing with two voices. These Tuvin people in northwestern Mongolia immigrated years ago from the neighboring Tuva district of Russia, and they are especially noted for their rich epic poetry and music. They use over 50 musical instruments. The Tuvins were traditionally shamanists, believing in an unseen world of gods, demons, and spirits. Although one third are Tibetan Buddhists and one third are non-religious, today the majority still revert to many shamanistic ceremonies and practices. Traditionally the Tuvins were herders, living a nomadic lifestyle, and those who have not been absorbed by the Mongolian culture still follow that lifestyle. The rural clans are trying to retain their native language and heritage. When Tuva became part of Mongolia, very few men and none of the women could read, and to a large extent that is still true, so perhaps Christian teachers will have open doors to work among the Tuvinian immigrants in Mongolia. Since 1997, there has been a significant response to the gospel among the Russian Tuvinians. [Source: Global Prayer Digest, August 26, 2006 (For further reading, see: Tuva on Joshua Project) Pray that these Russian counterparts will see the need and opportunity to share Christ with the Tuvins of Mongolia. Pray for strong local churches among the Tuvinians.-JS New Events India - Island Village Reached With The Gospel (by Mission Network News - December 19, 2006) It is an area that is still considered unreached, but an evangelist supported by India Partners is making inroads. It is called Royal Island, an island in the middle of the Krishna River in Andhra Pradesh. Some 1,500 people were antagonistic to Christians. India Partners’ Brent Hample says their partner traveled there. “They ran him off the village and said, ‘Don’t come back or we will kill you.’ But he prayed and he felt he needed to go and touch these people with the love of Jesus.” According to Hample there was no school or medical clinic and no gospel witness. He says, “Over the course of the past four years, we’ve sent some teams there to do medical and dental work, build a community center there that is used as a church, and hopefully in the future, as a school.” This building has done more for outreach than anything, Hample says. “(The) Krishna River flooded and the villagers were able to save themselves and their families in the church, because it’s two [stories] and it’s strong. They really were saved physically by the church.” The gratitude they have has opened doors for ministry. “The majority of the people on the island and in the village are still not Christians, but they are open to it now.” India - Cyclists Raise Awareness For Christian Hospital (by Bike India 2007) An international team of five people are bicycling 2,000 miles through India from December 30, 2006 to February 8, 2007 to raise awareness for Umri Christian Hospital (UCH) - an aging medical facility serving rural residents of central India. The team consists of two Americans, two Indians, and one Canadian, plus two Indian support personnel. Two different riders from each state/region of India will pedal through their native areas with the North Americans, guiding them through language translation and cultural sensitivity. They will be accompanied by a professional driver in a support vehicle, along with a variety of hosts and guides. The cyclists are pedaling from the southern tip of India to New Delhi. Team Leader, Bob Yardy, a physical therapist from America, was born at UCH, where his father, Dr. Paul Yardy, was the founding physician. When Bob returned to UCH five years ago for the hospital’s 50th anniversary, he was struck by the wonderful outreach of the hospital ... and by the deteriorating physical condition of the facility. He vowed to try to make a difference. Bicycle India 2007 is the way he hopes that difference will be made. New Persecution China - Police Raid Bible Study At Communist School(by Michelle Vu, The Christian Post (http://www.christianpost.com) - January 8, 2007) Local police in northeast China raided a Christian Bible study held at a sCommunist Party school on January 1, reported China Aid Association (CAA). A group of Christians gathered in an office at the school to celebrate the New Year by studying the Bible in Baoding City, Hebei Province. The local Public Security Bureau (PSB) raided the gathering at 10 a.m. and arrested more than 40 Christians for interrogation, reported CAA. Most of the Christians were released by 6 p.m. the same day. Among those arrested was Dr. Li Baiguang, one of the most renowned Christian legal activists from Beijing. He was named as one of Asia Newsweek’s “Person of the Year” in 2005 and met with President Bush in May to discuss freedom of expression and religion in China. The host of the Bible study was Professor Geng Sude, who is the vice president of the Communist Party school. She is an underground Christian intellectual among Chinese house churches. Currently, Geng is under tight surveillance. Recently the director of the Chinese State Administration for Religious Affairs, Yie Xiaowen, said that the number of Christians in China has reached 130 million, including 20 million Catholics, according to a CAA source. Vietnam - Police Detain Members Of Pastor’s Family (from: Compass Direct (http://www. compassdirect. org) - January 9, 2007) Police burst into the Vietnam Mennonite church and residence of the Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang here at 8:20 a.m. [January 9], broke up a prayer meeting, and arrested 17 people. They were all released at 5 p.m. after officials had demolished part of the family’s church/residence. Pastor Quang and his wife were not among those detained. The 17 people had complied with authorities’ request to halt the prayer meeting and exited the building, but they were taken into custody and detained at the police station of Binh Khanh Ward, District 2. Those arrested included the elderly mother of Pastor Quang’s wife, the Quangs’ 12-year-old son Huy, another child named Truc of the same age, and a woman named Thuong who is five months pregnant. The Christians reported that some of the women were crudely grabbed and led by the hair, some people were hit, and some slapped in the face. At the police station, authorities took the two young boys to a separate room where they hollered at them and threatened them.

선교정보리스트