Story number 1 for 21 Dec 2000

Our newscast today begins with a look at the events in Indonesia. There have been widely reported incidents of violence involving Christians and Muslims scattered throughout the chain of islands. Far East Broadcasting Company’s President Jim Bowman shares his thoughts of what is fueling the carnage in the Moluccas. “This is largely a turf war, and of course, in the process, you do have sincere heart Christians that are really suffering. But, the persecution is not specifically against Christianity as a religion as much as it is this kind of turf war…people who are really belonging to it as a cultural religion rather than a heart religion.” Bowman says their ministry is expanding with a new station, and plans for several more. He adds that the response has been strong. “I think what’s to be seen from this is that there’s strife throughout Indonesia for a variety of reasons, political reasons, religious reasons, cultural reasons, but it’s often in the time of turmoil that people are the most open to the Gospel.”