The U.S. State Department is hosting the second Ministerial to Advance Religious Freedom event, a summit being called the largest religious freedom event in history.

According to the Christian Post, the three-day event started Tuesday and some 1,000 civil society and political leaders from around the world are expected to attend.

“Much effort has been put into making this a very special week,” U.S. Ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback said during his introductory remarks.

“This is the largest human rights event ever hosted at the State Department and the largest religious freedom event ever done in the world. I hope you can sense and feel the importance of this moment in time. A global human rights movement centered on religious freedom is being launched from this meeting.”

As part of the summit, survivors of the Pittsburgh, Penn. shooting at a synagogue and survivors of the New Zealand mosque shooting delivered messages to attendees.

Dr. Farid Ahmad, who survived one of the mosque shootings in New Zealand, had previously said he forgave the shooter, and at the event, Ahmad said his faith was the reason he was able to forgive the man, who killed 51 people, including his wife.

“I had to respond and my response was that I offered my love and forgiveness for the killer,” Ahmad said.

“’Why did I do…

Planned Parenthood ousted its President/CEO, Dr. Leana Wen, after a dispute over the direction of the nation’s largest abortion provider.

The news broke Tuesday afternoon, when Wen tweeted, “I just learned that the @PPFA Board ended my employment at a secret meeting. We were engaged in good faith negotiations about my departure based on philosophical differences over the direction and future of Planned Parenthood. My statement to come shortly.” The move comes just eight months after Wen accepted the post.

I just learned that the @PPFA Board ended my employment at a secret meeting. We were engaged in good faith negotiations about my departure based on philosophical differences over the direction and future of Planned Parenthood. My statement to come shortly.

— Leana Wen, M.D. (@DrLeanaWen) July 16, 2019

She later released a statement in which she said that she was stepping down, again citing “philosophical differences over the direction and future of Planned Parenthood.” In the statement, she elaborated on those differences, saying, “I believe that the best way to protect abortion care is to be clear that it is not a political issue, but a health care one, and that we can expand support for reproductive rights by finding common ground with the large majority of Americans who understand reproductive health care as the fundamental health care that it…

A U.S. representative from Texas introduced articles of impeachment against President Trump Tuesday and said he plans to force the House of Representatives to vote on the issue. 

It is the third time Democratic Rep. Al Green has introduced impeachment articles, which are unlikely to gain traction but might require representatives to go on record stating where they stand on removing Trump from office.

The House could vote as early as Wednesday afternoon on a motion to consider impeachment immediately, Politico reported. 

“The President of the United States is a racist, a bigot, a misogynist, as well as an invidious prevaricator,” Green said in a statement. “To say that Donald John Trump is unfit for the Office of the President of the United States is an understatement. 

“He is unfit for public office, and if he displayed any of these behaviors in most private companies, he would be summarily terminated with haste,” he added. “How long will we stand idly by as he denigrates his constituents, decimates our democracy, and damages America’s global standing?”

Green introduced articles of impeachment against Trump in 2017 and 2018 when Republicans controlled the House. Both were easily defeated (354-58 and 355-66), but each time Green got a significant number of Democrats to join him. 

With Democrats now in control, Green may get even…

Anti-Christian violence has continued to spread across the West African nation of Burkina Faso, with a further four believers shot dead in cold blood at the end of June. 

According to Christian Persecution charity Open Doors USA, on June 27, heavily armed militants were spotted entering the village of Bani with the aim of hunting down followers of Jesus. The small community was gripped with a paralyzing fear as the militants proceeded to order everyone to lie down.

Then, a search ensued. The terrorists had one clear mission: find those who claim Jesus as their Lord and savior. They searched tirelessly for anything that might identify the individuals as Christ-followers. Then, tragically, they succeeded—four men were found to be wearing crosses around their necks.

As soon as it became clear that these men were Christians, they were dragged away from the group and brutally executed. Their names were David Zoungrana, Philippe Zoungrana, Theophile Ouedraogo and Ernest Kassoaga.

“At this stage, we don’t know their ages or anything about the families David, Philippe, Theophile and Ernest left behind,” wrote Lindy Lowery at Open Doors USA. “Just that they followed Jesus—and their faith was part of them. They weren’t afraid to make a public statement of their belief in an area known internationally for its display of seven adobe mosques–six of which are built at…

A member of the U.S. women’s national soccer team says a fellow soccer player didn’t make the team because of her stance on homosexuality.

U.S. women’s team goalie Ashlyn Harris on Tuesday criticized Jaelene Hinkle, a soccer player for the North Carolina Courage of the National Women’s Soccer League who has been outspoken about her Christian faith. 

In 2017, Hinkle declined a spot on the U.S. women’s national soccer team because the team was requiring players to wear LGBTQ Pride Month jerseys. Her Twitter bio lists a Bible verse, Colossians 3:22. Her Instagram bio says she’s a “Daughter of Christ.” 

Although Hinkle received an invitation to the 2017 team, she did not make this year’s team that won the World Cup. Hinkle hasn’t commented on her absence, but Harris nevertheless took to Twitter to speak out by referencing a tweet from an unrelated person, Obianuju Ekeocha, who tweeted that the U.S. team “is not a very welcoming place for Christians” because of its exclusion of Hinkle.

Jaelene Hinkle, is the 26-year-old American footballer who gave up the opportunity to be in the USWNT.

I was very curious to know what happened so I went in search of her interview with CBN.

Apparently, the US women’s Football team is not a very welcoming place for Christians. pic.twitter.com/iWXrG4Dkcw

—…

The Christian view of sex before marriage took center stage an episode of ABC’s hit show “The Bachelorette” this week after a heated exchange between star Hannah Brown and contestant Luke Parker. The fallout from the episode spilled over to Twitter, with the two engaging in a debate about morality, sin, and judging.

The spat started when the show moved to Greece for “fantasy suite week” and each of the four remaining contestants went on a date with Brown. Parker had been open about his Christian faith throughout the show and about his desire to save himself for marriage, a conviction that he believed his future wife should share as well. During his date with Brown, Parker broached the subject again, saying that if she had sex with anyone else on the trip he would want to go home.

Brown, an Alabama native, grew angry with Parker and accused him of looking for the speck in her eye while ignoring the log in his own. She said, “You’re questioning me, you’re judging me and feel like you have the right to when you don’t at this point. I get when you care for somebody that you don’t want to think about somebody being intimate with another person. But guess what? Sex might be a sin out of marriage; pride is a sin, too. And I feel like this is a pride thing.”

The most shocking moment of the exchange took place after Brown asked Parker to leave…