Australia

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (BosNewsLife Columns)-- One of the modern-day saints of the Middle East is Father Douglas Bazi, a Chaldean priest who endured nine days of captivity and torture after being kidnapped by the al-Qaida terror group. During my Skype interview with him last year, I was startled at how surprisingly cheerful and relaxed he appeared when recalling his harrowing experiences.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (BosNewsLife Columns)-- The recent murder of a Catholic priest at his church in northern France, by two young men claiming allegiance to Islamic State, brings starkly to Europe a morbid taste of the horrors that have terrorized the church in parts of the Middle East for the past several years.

Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (BosNewsLife Columns)-- Many Christians share my sense of frustration at feeling so helpless in the face of waves of Christian persecution around the world.But what can I, a lone individual living in faraway Australia do - practically speaking - to make a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of Christians being persecuted around the world?

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (BosNewsLife Columns)-- Cricket is little known outside countries that were once part of the British Empire. Yet in some of those places, and particularly on the Indian sub-continent, it enjoys immense popularity. In India itself it is by far the most popular sport, and here in Australia our national team attracts a large and enthusiastic following. So it was big news in early October when Cricket Australia announced that it had abandoned plans for a short series of test matches in Bangladesh, because of security concerns.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist MELBOURNE/ISLAMABAD (BosNewsLife Columns)-- I have just received a surprising gift from some returning missionaries. It's a small 2015 calendar, with each month’s page depicting a color photograph of a church. An accompanying card tells me that these are all vibrant churches, full of joyful worshippers who love to sing the praises of Jesus.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist MELBOURNE/NAYPYIDAW (BosNewsLife Columns)-- On my blog some weeks ago I reprinted portions of a speech given in the Australian Parliament by a politician who had secretly travelled into a rebel-held region of Myanmar, also known as Burma.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (BosNewsLife Columns)-- As Christians celebrate the risen Christ it is a period to remember that the news is good, not bad. The victory is won, the strongholds have been defeated. So at a time when the news media seem to be relaying little but relentless disaster, it is worth looking instead at some good news.

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (BosNewsLife Columns)-- I found myself in a mild Twitterstorm the other day, if Christians politely disagreeing with one another can be called a Twitterstorm on social networking service Twitter...

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (BosNewsLife Columns)-- When do Christians fight back? Many are asking that question after the horrific beheading of 21 Christians in Libya. Some continue to believe that Jesus enjoined us not to fight at all. That we must always turn the other cheek

By Martin Roth, BosNewsLife Senior Columnist PORTO-NOVO, BENIN (BosNewsLife Columns)-- Events in the Middle East during 2014, and now in Paris at the start of 2015,suggest that militant Islamism is on the move. At the same time it often seems that the persecution of Christians is intensifying throughout the Muslim world