Privacy Statement, Cookie Policy, and Important Notices

The following is posted at the bottom of EVERY page of  www.TimGamble.com, as well as in the FAQs section of this website. I post it again here to go "above and beyond" in terms of compliance and transparency. Thank you for your patronage of this website!

Privacy Statement, Cookie Policy, and Important Notices

Privacy is important. This website does not secretly collect any personally identifiable information on the readers and visitors. The only personal information I have on you is any information you voluntarily give in a comment or when subscribing by email.

This website itself does NOT use cookies, however third party applications associated this website, such as Google and Amazon, may use them. Those cookies are controlled by the third party using them, and are governed by their privacy terms. I have no access to any personally identifiable information they may collect. To read Amazon's privacy terms click here: Amazon Privacy Notice. To read Google's privacy terms click here: Google Privacy & Terms.

The purpose of this website is to provide information and opinion on a variety of topics typically relating to self-reliance. emergency preparedness, wilderness survival, homesteading, gardening, and bushcraft (outdoor skills). It also contains religious content (from a traditional Christian perspective), political & economic content (from a limited government and pro-Capitalism perspective), and educational materials.

Email Subscriptions: I do offer email subscriptions, the purpose of which is to notify subscribers of new articles, posts, and updates on this website (which may include advertising). The Email subscription service is provided by FeedBurner, which is owned by Google (governed by Google Privacy & Terms) I will never sell, rent, lease, or otherwise provide your email to any other party. You may unsubscribe to email at any time by clicking the Unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email and following the instructions.

Advertising: This website does contain advertising. However all advertising is static, non-personalized. In other words, you see the same ads and links as everyone else. Advertising on this website is NOT personally tailored to individual readers. This website does NOT currently use Google Adsense, and hasn't in several years. This website does NOT use pop-up ads (I hate those myself). If you see any pop-up advertising, it was placed there by your ISP or other third-party without my knowledge or permission.

Affiliations: This website is affiliated with Amazon.com. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Purchases made through links to Amazon.com on this website help fund this website. Thank You for your support.

Disclosure: The owner/editor of this website is not a financial, legal, or medical professional. All information, opinion, analysis, tips, and advice presented are meant only as "food for thought" and a starting point for your further investigation. It is the reader's responsibility to verify everything presented and to carefully consider its suitability for your life and particular circumstances.

India: American Pastor from Tennessee Arrested and Detained

Hindu extremism has been on the rise in India since 2014, when the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took power. The BJP embraces an anti-Westernization idea logy which sees Christianity as a political and cultural threat. 

The following is an unedited press release from International Christian Concern (ICC) regarding the latest incident. Please check out their website at www.persecution.org for more on the persecution and genocide of Christians around the world.

Pastor Targeted After Telling Customs Officials He Is a Christian

10/29/2019 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – International Christian Concern (ICC) learned that Pastor Bryan Nerren, a Christian pastor from Tennessee, has been arrested and detained in India after being accused of violating the country’s Foreign Exchange Management Act. 

According to the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), Pastor Nerren and two other pastors from Tennessee arrived in India on October 5 to attend two conferences in India and Nepal. The ACLJ reported that Pastor Nerren was then targeted and arrested by Indian customs agents after he told them he was a Christian.

After the three pastors arrived in New Delhi, Pastor Nerren was detained by customs agents while proceeding through the domestic security check for a flight to Bagdogra. According to the ACLJ, the pastor was carrying funds to cover the expenses for the two conferences as well as the two-week trip for himself and the other pastors. Customs agents questioned Pastor Nerren about the funds and their usage for about an hour. According to reports, Pastor Nerren has been traveling to India and Nepal for the past 17 years to train people to become Sunday school teachers.

According to the ACLJ, customs agents specifically asked Pastor Nerren if he was a Christian and if the funds would be used to support Christian causes. After fully explaining what the funds were to be used for, the customs agents told Pastor Nerren he was free to go. However, when Pastor Nerren arrived in Bagdogra, he was arrested and transported to Siliguri where he was incarcerated for six days and denied any visitors, including those from the US Consulate.

Pastor Nerren was able to secure bail after six days in jail. However, the judge has retained Pastor Nerren’s passport and ordered a travel ban. A hearing regarding Pastor Nerren’s case was scheduled for October 22, but it did not take place. Another court date has been set for Pastor Nerren’s case on December 12. According to the ACLJ, Pastor Nerren is effectively trapped in Siliguri.

Religious intolerance and instances of persecution have steadily escalated in India since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a political party founded on Hindu nationalist ideology, took power in 2014. 

According to the Evangelical Fellowship of India (EFI), 147 instances of religiously motivated violence against Christians were documented in 2014. In 2018, after four years of BJP rule, EFI documented 325 instances of religiously motivated violence against Christians.

William Stark, ICC’s Regional Manager, said, “We here at International Christian Concern are deeply concerned by the arrest and detention of Pastor Nerren. We are most concerned by reports that Pastor Nerren was targeted by Indian customs officials after he told them he is a Christian. 

Article 25 of India’s own constitution protects religious freedom for all of the country’s citizens. In addition, Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights also protects religious freedom. However, it seems these protections are being denied to Pastor Nerren due to his identity as a Christian.”
--------------------
Please subscribe to this website using the Follow By Email field at the bottom of the right hand column. 

Follow me on GAB at  https://gab.ai/TimGamble

Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TimGamble

Imprisoned Chinese House Church Member Released After Seven Months

Finally, a bit of good news for Christians in China, via the following unedited press release from International Christian Concern (ICC). Please check out their website at www.persecution.org for more on the persecution and genocide of Christians around the world.

Imprisoned Chinese House Church Member Released

Gou Zhongcan Returns Home After Seven Months in Prison 

10/24/2019 Washington, D.C. (International Christian Concern) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that on October 22, Gou Zhongcan from Early Rain Covenant Church (ERCC) in Sichuan was released and returned home to Bazhou city. Gou was detained in March and spent the last seven months in prison.

Gou is currently recovering since his vision deteriorated in prison. Otherwise, he is generally in good health, according to another ERCC member, Jia Xuewei.

Gou went missing on March 15, while he was visiting a friend in Zhejiang. His cellphone and computer were taken away from him. Three days later, he was spotted at the Hangzhou East Train Station being escorted by multiple plainclothes police officers. His head was shaved and he was handcuffed.

Since then, Gou’s lawyer has been unable to locate him despite multiple attempts. China Aid reported in July that Gou was detained and held in the basement of a public security bureau office for refusing to reveal the passwords to his computer and cell phone. When Gou’s elderly father was finally allowed to meet with him, he shared that his son did not look well, but that he had been singing hymns and worship songs while being detained.

This was not the first time that Gou has been jailed. At 23 years old, he was a reporter and was imprisoned for more than 10 years for reporting on the inhumane treatment of prisoners in China to human rights organizations abroad. While in prison, he was greatly tormented.

Gou came to Christ in 2016 after he was released, and began attending ERCC.

A Chinese Christian familiar with the case shared on Twitter yesterday, “Brother Gou Zhongcan from ERCC in Chengdu, who was arrested in March earlier this year has returned home yesterday. Thanks be to God that the captive has been delivered!”

Gina Goh, ICC’s Regional Manager for Southeast Asia, said, “What great news to know that Gou is finally free. But the Chinese government has not relented on the persecution of Christians. ERCC pastor Wang Yi and elder Qin Derfu are still criminally detained on trumped up charges and their lawyers and family have not been able to see them, even after 10 months. We should continue to put pressure on Beijing so that they will be set free. None of them deserved imprisonment in the first place.”
---------------

Algerian Authorities Close Two of the Country’s Largest Churches

The following is an unedited press release from International Christian Concern (ICC). Please check out their website at www.persecution.org for more on the persecution and genocide of Christians around the world.  

Algerian Authorities Close Two of the Country’s Largest Churches

10/15/2019 Washington D.C. (International Christian Concern) – International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that authorities in Algeria have ordered the closure of two of the largest churches in the nation. Both churches are linked to l’Eglise Protestante d’Algerie (EPA), an organization formed in 1974 to collectively represent Algerian Christians before the government.

According to a report by Morning Star News, a 500-member Protestant church in Makouda was officially closed by the authorities today, October 15. This comes only one day after the congregation received an order from the government, notifying them that the church would be closed.  In response, congregants of the Makouda church filled the place of worship in protest of the closure.

The second church, the Protestant Church of the Full Gospel of Tizi-Ouzou (EPPETO), was notified that its building would be closed on October 16. However, despite the closure order being effective for October 16, authorities also closed EPPETO today. EPPETO represents the largest church west of the Nile River, with 1,000 members in the congregation. The church’s head pastor, Pastor Salah Chalah, is also the head of the EPA.

“Today, two of the largest churches in Algeria have been closed,” an EPA spokesperson, speaking with ICC on the condition of anonymity, said. “We do not understand the relentless injustice of the Algerian government towards us. They refuse to hear us or listen to us.”

Last week, the EPA organized peaceful protests against church closures. The orders for the two most recent churches to be closed come just days after the completion of the protests. Pastor Salah attempted to meet with governing authorities multiple times over this issue, without success.

“Algerian Christians have now found themselves with thousands of Christians without a place of worship,” the EPA spokesperson told ICC. “But we remain confident in the Lord. We need the prayers of our brothers and sisters from across the world.”

The two churches have been closed under a 2006 law that mandates any non-Muslim worship be conducted in specific, designated buildings. However, no church has received official permission since the passage of the law. With these closures, seven of Algeria’s 60 EPA-affiliated churches have been closed in the past six weeks.

ICC’s Advocacy Director, Matias Perttula, commented, “Reports of rising levels of religious intolerance in Algeria are once again causing a great level of concern for ICC and our partners. These church closures are completely baseless and clear indicators of persecution and harassment of Algeria’s Christians, who represent a significant religious minority. ICC plans to raise this issue with our partners as well as members of Congress on Capitol Hill to make them aware of these human rights violations.”
-----------------