China Detains Over 100 Christian Worshipers, Including Children
Chinese police have detained more than 100 Christians, including minors, for attending unauthorized worship and Christian education in southeastern China, several sources confirmed.
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Study: Trauma-Informed Bible Reading Reduces Depression, Anxiety, Anger
A recent ABS-commissioned study by Baylor University researchers found that combining education about mental health best practices with Bible reading can have a significant benefit. In their study, this reduced the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and increased forgiveness, compassion, and sense of purpose.
Pastor Denied Permit to Hold National Day of Prayer Event at the U.S. Capitol Building
This year’s National Day of Prayer event at the U.S. Capitol appears to have been canceled after one evangelical leader was denied a permit to hold the prayer gathering at the building.
Nepal: Hindu extremists use false document to discredit Christianity
As part of a campaign to discredit Christianity, Hindu extremists in Nepal forged a document they falsely attributed to the Nepal Christian Society (NCS) and the National Churches Fellowship of Nepal (NCFPN), in which they presumed to show these charities want to create an ethnic division for evangelistic purposes, Morning Star News reports.
Laos pastor released after a year in prison
Authorities in Laos have released a Christian pastor who was imprisoned for a year for holding church services without a permit, Mission Network News reports. Laos currently ranks 22 on the Open Doors Watch List of countries that persecute Christians.
Iran: One Christian released from prison, four more detained
While Christian convert Majidreza Souzanchi was released from Iran’s Greater Tehran Penitentiary on April 8, four other Christians were arrested and detained by Iranian intelligence officials on April 19, International Christian Persecution reports. Iran currently ranks 8 on the Open Doors Watch List of countries where Christians are persecuted for their faith.
Muslim Herdsmen Kill Dozens of Nigeria Christians
Dozens of Christians have been killed by hardline Muslim Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria’s troubled north-central Benue state, Christian survivors said.
China’s five-year campaign to suppress religious freedom affects believers
A major annual report issued by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) earlier this month, has highlighted China’s five-year campaign to suppress religious faith, including Christianity, in the country, CNS News reports. The Chinese Communist party is pursuing a program of “sinification” or “sinicization” of religion that began in 2018 and is set to run until 2022.
Nigeria: Fulani militants continue to murder Christians with impunity
In their continued murderous onslaught against Christians, Fulani militants in Nigeria’s Kaduna state killed a believer and abducted five others during an April 25 attack on a Baptist Church in Manini Tasha village, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.
Religious Freedom Report: 14 nations are “Countries of Particular Concern”
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) published its 2021 Annual Report earlier this month, redesignating 10 nations as Countries of Particular Concern (CPC) and recommending to the State Department that India, Russia, Syria, and Vietnam now be given that designation as well.
Papua Churches Urge UN To Help End Attacks
The West Papua Council of Churches urges the United Nations to help end a “humanitarian tragedy” in Indonesia’s Papua region where it says Indonesia’s military kills Christian leaders.
Faculty turns against Christian University trustees who abide by Biblical standards
Nearly three-quarters of faculty at the historically Christian Seattle Pacific University (SPU) voted ‘no confidence’ in the school’s board of trustees because the board affirmed the college’s expectation that hired faculty will live by Biblical standards on sexuality, Christian Headlines reports. The faculty vote was triggered after adjunct nursing professor Jéaux Rinedah claimed in January that he was denied a full time teaching position at the school because he is gay.
Tennessee’s 48-hour abortion waiting period law reinstated by appeals court
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has allowed a Tennessee law requiring women seeking an abortion to wait 48 hours before they can undergo the procedure to take effect until a ruling on the law’s constitutionality is reached.
Supreme Court to Decide if California Is Essentially Creating a Cancel Culture Hit List
A diverse collection of 60 interest groups was at the Supreme Court on Monday, participating in the next round in a legal battle over donor privacy with the state of California.
Supreme Court declines religious liberty dispute between California and Texas
The Supreme Court declined a case challenging California’s ban on state-funded travel to Texas and other states that allow Christian adoption and foster care agencies to refuse service to gay and transgender couples on Monday.
Dozens Die As Blaze Hits Baghdad COVID Hospital
Anxious families searched for relatives in Baghdad after the death toll of a weekend fire at a hospital for coronavirus patients rose to at least 82.
Christian Missionaries Die Of COVID In India
Christian missionaries and church leaders already suffering persecution in several areas are among those dying of severe symptoms of COVID-19 raging in India, aid workers say.
Dozens arrested in night of chaos and clashes in Jerusalem
The Israel Police said 44 people were arrested and 20 officers were wounded in a night of chaos in Jerusalem, where security forces separately clashed with Palestinians angry about Ramadan restrictions and Jewish extremists who held an anti-Arab march nearby.
US President Calls Massacre Of Armenians “Genocide”
More than a century after one of the worst massacres of Christians, U.S. President Joe Biden formally declared the systemic killing and deportation of some 1.5 million Armenians by Ottoman Empire forces “genocide.”
Russia Increasingly Banning Christian Education
Russia has stripped several Christian institutions of their right to offer higher education, several sources confirmed.