Convert Killed in Attack on Missionary's Lebanon Home - Christianity Today (2024)

Missionary’s home bombed in Lebanon

Dutch missionary Jakob Griffioen (alternate but apparently incorrect spellings: Jacob Gerifon, Grifion) and his German wife woke up around midnight last night to the sound of someone at the front door of their ground floor apartment in the northern Lebanon town of Tripoli. When they checked to see what was happening, all they saw was someone running away down the street—and a package at their door.

“They called for help from a Jordanian and an Egyptian, two of their followers, who live in the adjacent apartment,” a police officer told the AFP news service. “The Jordanian, who was the first to arrive, was killed instantly by the explosion of the device.”

Another security official told Reuters that it wasn’t so instant. “He examined it, saw a fuse and attempted to stop it, but it continued and the explosive went off.” The Associated Press says the bag was shooting out sparks when Jamil Ahmed Rifai, a Jordanian convert from Islam, tried to defuse it.

“A man who called himself Mohammed, and who had recently visited the couple frequently under the pretext that he wanted to convert to Christianity, is the prime suspect in this attack,” a police source told AFP. A military source told the AP that the motive appears to be directly targeted against Griffioen and his wife, and not as part of broad-based anti-Western sentiment in the country.

The Dutch newspaper Die Telegraaf (machine translation) says the 51-year-old Griffioen, who has been working in Lebanon for 20 years, was repeatedly threatened before the attack.

In November, American missionary Bonnie Penner was killed at a Christian hospital in the southern town of Sidon. Southern Lebanon is generally more radicalized than the north, but the AP notes that “Tripoli, Lebanon’s second largest city, is home to Sunni fundamentalist groups. Qubba [the neighborhood where Griffioen lives] has a small Christian population.”

(One note: don’t believe this photo. Though the caption indicates that it’s of damage caused by last night’s bombing, it’s actually a year old, from a bombing of a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant in the same city.)

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Politics:

1. Christian Right talks of bolting GOP in 2004 | James Dobson, Ken Connor reportedly upset over Republicans’ failure to rally around Santorum comments (NewsMax.com)
2. Protecting prayer | Pastors meet nearby after Lake Elsinore bans the act at City Council meetings because of a legal threat (The Press-Enterprise, Riverside, California)
3. Sunbathing crusade mostly stirs up hot air | A crusade to get Marion Square sunbathers to cover up might not put an end to the springtime scene of students lying on the grass in bikinis—but that hasn’t stopped seemingly everyone from talking about it (The Post and Courier, Charleston, S.C.)
4. Government as family therapist: A dangerous cycle | If the government is serious about reviving marriage, it must bite the bullet and roll back no-fault divorce. “Educating” people to put their trust in what has become a fraudulent contract will merely expand the gravy train of educators and other divorce practitioners who benefit from the deception (Stephen Baskerville, National Review Online)
5. Today, class, we’ll study tolerance—so let’s silence that guy | The truth is an offense when it comes to gay rights (M.D. Harmon, Portland Press Herald)
6. A leap of faith in Indian politics | Secular party shifts strategy as Hindu nationalism dominates discourse (The Washington Post)
7. High-level Israeli Government envoy fights US plan | Meets with Roberta Combs, Gary Bauer, and Pat Robertson to rally against Palestinian state (AFP)

Education:

1. Religious colleges walk a fine line | Colleges with a religious affiliation often must struggle to balance academic freedom with the potentially conflicting values of religion (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
2. On campus, spiritual groups witness a cultural conversion | Asian Americans are rapidly becoming the face of Christianity on many college campuses across the country, joining evangelical clubs in large numbers and, in some cases, starting their own Christian organizations (The Washington Post)
3. Religious diversity felt on campuses | The religious diversity at this and many campuses nationwide is often evident outside the traditional morning worship service (Religion News Service)
4. Finding common ground | Students research the world’s belief systems to find their similarities (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
5. Alaska Christian College students graduate in faith-based ceremony | But there was no “Pomp and Circ*mstance” at the ceremony, literally or figuratively (Peninsula Clarion, Kenai, Alaska)
6. Pupils take religion ‘release’ | But pastors are reluctant to publicize the program, and few local school districts take part (Press Enterprise, Bloomsburg, Penn.)
7. Fact v faith | Creationists cannot ignore scientific truth (Editorial, The Guardian, London)
8. Regent mourns loss of divinity instructor | Garry Hanvey committed suicide after years of depression (The Virginian-Pilot)

Iraq:

1. Converting the conquered: WWJT? | Christians are often the most un-Christian when they work hardest to be most Christian. Franklin Graham is the latest poster boy for that kind of zealotry (Steve Gushee, Palm Beach Post)
2. Should Christian aid workers in Iraq be allowed to proselytize? | Washington Post readers respond (The Washington Post)
3. Peace advocate reflects on his 3 months in Iraq | Scott Kerr was in Baghdad throughout much of the U.S. invasion serving with Christian Peacemaker Teams (The Daily Herald, Chicago suburbs)
4. Iraq war breeds doomsday fears | Apocalypse now? Christians, Muslims link conflict to centuries-old visions of humanity’s final hours (The Mercury News, San Jose, Calif.)
5. In Saddam’s Iraq, monastery was an oasis of tolerance | Saddam did once visit, according to Father Paulus, a blind Assyrian Christian monk who has lived here in isolation for more than 40 years (Cox News)

Tony Blair’s faith:

1. When fanatics wear an ugly face | Mr. Blair is in a spot of trouble for trying to be nice to God (Wesley Pruden, The Washington Times)
2. Campbell interrupted Blair as he spoke of his faith: ‘We don’t do God’ | Tony Blair’s most senior advisers have intervened to prevent him discussing his faith in public, according to two new profiles of the Prime Minister (The Daily Telegraph, London)
3. You don’t have to be as religious as Blair and Bush to face judgment days | It is a shock to know that the Prime Minister believes in God. It means that Britain is led by a member of a quite small religious minority: the Christian believers (John Lloyd, Scotland on Sunday)
4. A question of faith | Experience seems to have cured the Prime Minister of the idea that, because he is a Christian believer, everything that he says and does must be right, and everything that his opponents say and do must be wrong (Editorial, The Daily Telegraph, London)
5. Hi, Lord, it’s Tony here … | (Al Kennedy, The Guardian, London)

Faith-based social ministry:

1. When God goes to prison | The Carol Vance Unit is the kind of faith-based program the Bush Administration would like to see more of. Its mix of religion and rehabilitation may violate the First Amendment, but may also make it the best prison in Texas (Legal Affairs)
2. Faith-based drug, alcohol rehab center becomes model | Programs are controversial, but prototypes of what President Bush wants to fund with $600 million dollars in federal tax dollars during the next three years (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

Missions & ministry:

1. Missionary group ‘worried’ by SARS | Youth With A Mission (YWAM) has confirmed two Australian teenagers suspected of contracting the deadly SARS virus in India were part of their organization (AAP)
2. Also: Two Aussies remain in hospital (The Australian)
3. Missions go on despite the risks | Though some volunteers have been killed, organizations do little adjusting (Religion News Service)
4. Telemarketers lose at Supreme Court | The outcome of the case has implications for every nonprofit group that engages in fundraising (Family News in Focus)

The Grahams:

1. Faithful are expected to flock to evangelist’s San Diego visit | Many followers of the Rev. Billy Graham believe health problems and age may make next week’s mission event his last appearance in area (Los Angeles Times)
2. Also: Graham is eager to share his mission and his message (San Diego Union-Tribune)
3. Also: Terror risk at Graham mission is called low | Police focus on keeping crowds moving safely (San Diego Union-Tribune)
4. Also: Onward, Christian soldier | Preacher for presidents, populace remains on a mission (San Diego Union-Tribune)
5. Also: Church leaders, members gather in anticipation of Graham event | Mission will be his fourth San Diego revival (San Diego Union-Tribune)
6. Franklin Graham festival an introduction to faith for some, practice of faith for others | The music lovers, those searching for rejuvenation, those who wanted to worship—all said the evening was a success (The Roanoke Times)
7. Also: With 21,000 in attendance Sunday, Franklin Graham festival undoubtedly a smash | “Now it’s up to us to keep the evangelistic thrust going in our churches and our community,” a festival coordinator said (The Roanoke Times)
8. Also: Counselors’ hard work pays off as festivalgoers accept Christ | “God put us together,” counselor Reva Orange said. “You make a forever friend.” (The Roanoke Times)

Conversion stories:

1. From crime to Christ—one man’s journey | Victory Outreach minister will speak of his time on the streets (The Argus, Fremont, Calif.)
2. Born again to join a motorcycle ministry | After his wife, Terri, was killed on a motorcycle in 1980, A.J. ‘Budd’ Mack was left with more than just broken ribs, a broken leg and a fractured skull (Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, N.Y.)
3. When Judy met Jesus | To hear Judy Mowatt speak of her journey of faith from Rastafarian to Christian is to learn how painful experiences in her childhood and adulthood served in the end to set her on fire in ministry for the Lord Jesus Christ (Jamaica Gleaner)

Personalities:

1. Moore team files briefs in case on Commandments | Lawyers denying he had an unconstitutional religious purpose in placing a monument to the Ten Commandments in the state judicial building (The Birmingham News)
2. Also: Moore’s message delivered | Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore compared Christians to cows and sheep in a speech delivered Thursday at Henagar Baptist Church for its third annual National Day of Prayer service (Times Journal, Fort Payne, Ala.)
3. Fear factor | Jack Chick is the world’s most published author—and one of the strangest (Los Angeles Magazine)
4. When Robertson retires, who’s next in line? | Is Gordon Robertson, the son who co-hosts “The 700 Club,” destined to fill his father’s shoes? (The Virginian-Pilot, alt site)
5. Perpetuity in mind, Rogers sets new goal | Adrian Rogers has reached what he calls the “transfer zone” of his illustrious career (The Commercial Appeal, Memphis)

Church life:

1. Southern Baptist membership reaches all-time high |Total membership in Southern Baptist churches reached 16,247,736 in 2002—a 1.21 percent increase, or 194,816 additional members, over 2001 (The Charlotte Observer)
2. Divided church settles dispute | Brownsville pastor mediates case between group, congregation (Palladium-Item, Richmond, Ind.)
3. Preaching from the rooftops, and other post-Easter news | Last Sunday, the Rev. Leslie Shelton of Sunnyside Pentecostal Holiness Church preached his post-Easter sermon from the roof. And people did pull off the highway to hear him (The Roanoke Times)
4. Church learns from ex-POW | Pfc. Patrick Miller, who attended services at Olivet Baptist Church with his family Sunday, is the focus of the day’s sermon (The Wichita Eagle)
5. From dream to reality | Archbishop breaks ground for Greek Orthodox church (Newsday, New York)
6. A movie title? No, it’s your local church | Many of our historic churches have become Temples of Doom (Don Rittner, The Troy Record)
7. Shiloh Baptist Church gets and gives a new start | For many people, it isn’t just a $6 million, 1,480-seat church. It’s a sign of the revitalization of Easton’s South Side (The Express-Times, N.J.)
8. Mainline Protestants reeling | A review of the five most prominent mainline denominations shows that their membership in New York City and the surrounding suburbs has fallen by 45 percent since the heyday of 1960 (The Journal News, Westchester, N.Y.)
9. In Scarsdale, Yonkers, churches try new approach | Ezequiel Herrera-Rodriguez, 33 years old and Dominican born, is trying to spread the word, or at least a softer version. He is Calvin’s man in Yonkers. (The Journal News, Westchester, N.Y.)

Pop culture:

1. Fab Four’s friend lives by different tune | Music veteran Ken Mansfield to tell of his long journey from Beatles to Jesus Christ (The Tennessean)
2. Music with a message | Christian music for the masses isn’t exactly music for Mass (The Desert Sun, Palm Springs, Calif.)
3. Evanescence has faith in live show | Guitarist Ben Moody tells Billboard.com he’s unsure how the band became embroiled in this “Are they” or “Aren’t they” Christian rock controversy, but all is good as far as he is concerned (Billboard)
4. ‘Angel’ stirred spirited, spiritual debates | It was a condition spelled out before even one soft-focused close-up of Roma Downey had been filmed: mention of God was OK, Father in Heaven, maybe, but not Jesus (The Salt Lake Tribune)
5. Faith helps Hunter, Koskie, teammates touch all the bases | Some of the Minnesota Twins say they have the ultimate fan (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
6. God’s fave flicks? | Conservative Christians look to Hollywood to project values (Boston Herald)

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