Four Regions Likely to Become War Zones

1.) Eastern Europe

Ever since Russian forces worked with Crimeans to have Crimea join Russia. The annexation has been recognized by almost no countries in the international community. After two years Ukraine's President has warned that it will retake Crimea by way of an invasion. Russia is more than capable of ending a war with Ukraine in less than a year: the real danger comes if NATO plans to help Ukraine maintain it's sovereignty.

2.) The Middle East

Israel and Iran have been enemies for decades. What makes war particularly likely is the recent Iran Deal which will give Iran excess to a stronger economy. Israel fears Iran will use this to upgrade its military which is already the second strongest country in the region after Israel. It's likely that Israel will seek to cripple the nation which has so often called for its death within the next five years.

3.)  Western Asia

India and Pakistan have also had a poor relationship since independence from the British. Recently on the 70th anniversary for both countries India's President Modi criticized Pakistan for its treatment of the people of Balochristian; a state in the south-west. This issue has raised tensions between the two countries both of which have nuclear arms.

4.) South China Sea

In south-east Asia China has been building artificial islands in disputed waters. No country in the region has anywhere near the military power to protect their claimed waters. America however has a mutual defense treaty with the Philippines.

Countries Where Evangelicals Hold Political Power

I.) Map
II.) The Americas
III.) Africa
IV.) Asia
V.) Oceania

II.) The Americas

In the Americas there are seven highly Evangelical countries: the majority of Evangelicals live in America in which Evangelism has been part of the national identity since the 1730's when the First Great Awakening took place. In the Caribbean the Protestant countries are the most Evangelical: Countries like Jamaica, the Bahamas and Barbados all are more than 30% Evangelical.

In the mainland countries such as Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicargua are all Catholic majority countries but that hasn't stopped all three from gaining Evangelical populations from 10% to as much as 31%.

Evangelicalism has grown most quickly in Brazil: In 1970 only 5% of Brazilians identified as Evangelical, just forty years later about a quarter identify as Evangelical. If the trend continues Brazil will be an Evangelical majority country by 2060.

In almost every Latin America country Evangelicals make up more than 10% of the national population.

III.) Africa

The most Evangelical country in Africa is Kenya where over 40% identify as Evangelical. Joining Kenya is nearby Uganda (36.8%), the Central African Republic (33.4%) and Nigeria (30.6%).  82 million Evangelicals lived in these four countries alone in 2010; over 100 million others live throughout sub-Saharan Africa most of whom live in Protestant majority countries.

IV.) Asia

Korea has a history of being highly Christian in fact Pyongyang (now North Korea's capital) was known as the "Jerusalem of the East". This ended in the 1950's as the communist regime sought to wipe out Christianity. In South Korea Christianity grew so that today more than 20% of South Koreans identify as Evangelical. The Koreans along with the Chinese are known to be particularly devout. In South Korea's case it sends out more missionaries than every country except for America. They do this despite the fact there are only about 12 million Korean Evangelicals (compared to America's Evangelical population of 90 million in 2010.)

In all other Asian countries Evangelicals make up less than 10% of the total population.

V.) Oceania 

In Oceania the most Evangelical countries are Papua New Guinea and the Marshall Islands. Evangelism is however common on almost every island; the major exemption being Funtuna Islands where less than 3% of the inhabitants identify as Evangelical.

In Australia, a country of 24 million people, between 10-15% identify as Evangelical.

John Piper: The Most Influential Reformed Evangelical on Earth

He's a seventy year old man who lives far from the Bible-belt and he's become one of most influential Evangelicals on earth. On Twitter he has more than 800,000 followers, his podcast "Ask Pastor John" has attracted tens of thousands and he's written over forty books that keep selling.

He's John Piper and here's ten things you should know about him:

1.) He's a true believer: Mr. Piper was born in Tennessee and raised in South Carolina his father was a traveling preacher and his mother was also a devout Christian. He attended Wheaten college in Illinois to major in literature and get a minor in philosophy. John wanted to go into Pre-Med school but after dealing with health problems decided instead to study Theology in California. In 1971 he graduated Fuller Seminar with a Master's of Divinity Degree. He wasn't done: he moved to Munich, in what was then West Germany to do doctoral studies in the New Testament. After returning to America he became a Professor and taught in St. Paul, Minnesota until 1980 when at age 34 he became Pastor at Bethlehem Baptist church; a position he held for over thirty years. What perhaps shows his devotion the most is when towards the later years before retirement he was diagnosed with cancer, he released this statement:

"This news has, of course, been good for me. The most dangerous thing in the world is the sin of self-reliance and the stupor of worldliness. The news of cancer has a wonderfully blasting effect on both. I thank God for that. The times with Christ in these days have been unusually sweet."

2.) He has a family: John Piper married a women named Noel in 1968, she's into literature and is of course also an Evangelical. He had four sons and one daughter; a few decades later he is a grandfather to twelve children. 

3.) He's anti-racism: Growing up in the American south in the 50's Mr. Piper's environment was a racist one. Although it's unclear how much it effected his views early in life what is clear is that he would go on to preach against racism in no uncertain terms. 

 4.) He's Theologically Reformed--and that's a big reason he's popular: This article isn't designed to go into detail about Evangelical Theology. What can be said is that Evangelical Christianity (and Protestantism generally) can be split between Arminism (which focuses on "You choosing Jesus") and Calvinism (which focuses on "Jesus choosing you") the term Reformed refers to an Evangelical who believes in Calvinism. Reformed theology has becoming more popular since the 90's and in recent years has been very popular among young Evangelicals. 

5.) He greatly opposes the "prosperity Gospel": The prosperity Gospel is the message that accepting Christ's Atonement in faith and repenting from one's sins means that you will become wealthy, healthy and more successful in your lives' endeavors. John Piper has criticized the teaching so popular among televangelists (especially in past decades): he says that it makes him angry, he hates it and in 2009 sat down to explain why he "abominates it." (Video here.)

6.) He describes himself as a "Christian Hedonist": John Piper's personal struggle with depression may well have lead to him promoting the idea of Christian Hedonism wherein the Christian takes great pleasure and joy in his or her life in accordance with the teachings of Jesus not sinful gain. "God is most glorified in you, when you are most satisfied in Him." is popular quote from Mr. Piper.
He explains what he means here.

7.) He's a prolific writer: Mr. Piper is the author of over forty books and is still writing. In addition to his books he puts out poetry every Christmas season.

8.) He's not very political: Although like most Reformed Pastors Piper has spoken against abortion and the redefining of marriage he's been hesitate to call for specific political action. He's not without he's critics for this.

9.) He's part the Gospel Coalition: The Gospel Coalition is a group of Reformed Evangelicals who are seeking to reform Evangelical Christianity as a whole. He is among other respected leaders like John MacArthur, Voddie Baucham and Tim Keller.

10.) He will almost certainly be remembered as a saint: Although he's not without his criticism from Arminians or political activists it is almost certain that for millions of people from America,
South Africa, Singapore, the Philippines, the United Kingdom and  a number of other countries John Piper will be remembered as saint who had an influence on their lives.  

Western World

Monotheism Map (2016)

Monotheism (the belief that there is one God) is most common in North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Oceania. Ironically, even though Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Sikhism were founded in Asia, Asians remain the least accepting of Monotheism.

Historically Monotheism was common has been widely accepted in North Africa, Europe and the Middle East since 700 AD it spread rapidly to the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania over the last 500 years,

Protestantism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Judaism, Sunni Islam, Shiite Islam and Sikhism are all considered Monotheistic.

Buddhism, Hinduism, Shintoism and Taoism are not.

Anglicanism

I.) General description
II.) Power structure
III.) Theology
IV.) Ethics
V.) Demographics

I.) General Description 

The Anglican Church was formed in 1534 AD in England under King Henry the eighth.
In Anglicanism the British monarch is the Head of the Church (as opposed to the Pope in Catholicism.)

At the time of the formation of the Church of England the Reformation which began Protestantism was only 17 years old yet it had already significantly impacted Europe.


II.) Structure 

In terms of structure Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth is the Head (left).



Also is significant power is the Archbishop of Canterbury (on the right).

Underneath the Monarch and Archbishops in authority are:

Bishops who head dioceses (large parts of land covering numerous churches.)

Priests preside over individual churches.

Deacons assist the Priest in church duties and care of its members.

Bishops, Priests and Deacons are considered part of the Clergy.

III.) Theology

The Anglican affirms the following:
-The Apostles Creed
-The Nicene Creed
-The Athanasian Creed
-39 Articles of Religion

It defers from other churches considered Protestant in that:
-It says the Monarch is the Church not Christ.


IV.) Ethics

Abortion: The Church of England is strongly against abortion but permits it in specific circumstances.

Divorce: Re-marriage after divorce is permitted under certain specific circumstances.

Marriage: The Church of England opposes the "marrying" of any two people of the same sex within Church. However the Canadian Anglican Church and the Episcopal Church of America (both part of the Anglican Communion) have defined marriage as including same-sex couples despite Scriptural teaching and  Anglican tradition.


V.) Demographics 

The Communion of the Church of England is most prevalent in four countries:
England, Canada, America and Australia.

In the United Kingdom about 20% identify as an Anglican.

In Canada 4.9% identified as Anglican in 2011.

In American less than 10% identify as Anglican.

In Australia 17.1% identified as being an Anglican.

Anglicanism has a considerable presence among Indigenous Canadians and among Sub-Saharan Africans--in South African 3.8% were Anglicans in 2001.

Furries

I.) General overview
II.) Relevant definitions

I.) General overview

A "furry" is defined as an individual who has an interest in fictional animals with anthropomorphic animal characters. 

The name "furry" comes from the fandom itself. Many buy fursuits and create a fursona (furry-persona) they gather in conventions which are often attended by thousands of people. It is not fair to say that every member of the furry fandom owns a fursuit or attends conventions regularly.



(Furries are seen here wearing fursuits.) 

Homosexuality and bi-sexuality is very common in the furry fandom:

Less than 4% of Americans identify as gay, lesbian or bi-sexual and yet among "furries" 25.5% identify as gay and 37.3% were bisexual. (University of California Study, 2007) (In other words there are about 15 times the amount of bisexuals and gays among furries than the American population in general.)

Over 80% of furries are male and the vast majority are Millennials (born after 1981). (International Online Furry Survey, 2011)

A minority of furries say that they feel like they are "their species" trapped in a human body.
(International Online Furry Survey, 2011)

Most furry's have "hybrids", wolves, fox, dog, "big cat" or dragon as their "fursonas". (International Online Furry Survey, 2011)

Less than 5% of Westerners identify as being a furry. 


II.) Relevant definitions 

Anthropomorphic: Having human characteristics (such as walking on two legs.) 

Furry: An individual who has an interest in fictional animals with anthropomorphic animal characters with human personalities and characteristics. 

Fursuit: A suit designed to resemble a fictional anthropomorphic animal. 

Fursona: A personality invented by a Furry that is used when wearing a fursuit.