Thanks for your prayers over the weekend. Here is the worldwide news release sent this morning from Christian News Service. Please pray through this week. Love in Christ. 2019 World Track and Field Championships Awarded to Doha, a Persecutor of Christians Madison, Wisconsin, Nov. 24, 2014 |Christian News Service| -- Doha, the capital city of Qatar, will host the 2019 World 4 windsTrack and Field Championships and the 2022 World Cup in soccer. This will be the first time that an Arab country will host these events. For the World Track and Field Championships, Doha recently beat out Eugene, Oregon and Barcelona, Spain for the honor to host this event. Qatar has been accused of funding the terrorist organization ISIS according to the Guardian. Also, the majority of people in Qatar are migrant slaves who are treated harshly according to Open Doors. People are not free to practice Christianity or attend church. If a person converts to Christianity from Islam, a person may face the death penalty. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is the body that selects where future track and field championships are located. They work closely with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and indirectly with the United Nations (UN). According to Reuters in November, the United Nations passed a resolution recognizing the autonomy of sport (IOC) as an important tool that will help foster political neutrality as well as lead to less boycotts and discrimination. Steve McConkey, President of 4 Winds Christian Athletics, believes the UN, IOC, and IAAF send mixed messages as they proclaim world peace using athletics, but then allow persecuting countries to host sporting events. The last major problem was when they allowed China to host the 2012 Olympics despite the country persecuting Christians, with over 100 million Christians forced underground. Sporting events allow people to enjoy something other than bad news, says Steve McConkey. However, if host countries do not take the time to solve their problems, then they should not be allowed to host major sporting events. No country is perfect, but to persecute people for their Christian beliefs will always be wrong. Steve McConkey is the President of 4 WINDS. Steve and his wife started working in world-class track and field ministries in 1981. In 2014, 4 WINDS expanded to all sports with an emphasis on discernment-apologetics. Steve regularly appears on worldwide radio and is frequently quoted in articles throughout the world. He operates BigPlanetWatch and TrackandFieldReport. Steve has a Masters of Public Health from Western Kentucky University and became a Christian in 1976 after reading the New Testament. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa, but moved to NW Wisconsin after the sixth grade.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 19:35:16 +0000
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