NAIROBI, Kenya, October 15, 2018 (Morning Star News) – Islamic extremists suspected to be Al Shabaab militants on Wednesday at 1 a.m. (Oct. 10) killed two Christians in northern Kenya, sources said.

 

In Mandera East, in Mandera County on Kenya’s border with Somalia, more than 20 suspected Somali Al Shabaab rebels detonated an Improvised Explosive Device at the block housing where non-local teachers live, instantly killing two teachers. In an area with many Muslims of Somali descent, militants assume that Kenyans who come from the interior to work are Christians – which, in this case as in previous ones, was correct.

 

“The non-local teachers were members of the Catholic Church and the East Africa Pentecostal Church,” an area source told Morning Star News, requesting their names be withheld as relatives have yet to be notified. “The attackers knew who to attack; they had a specific mission of targeting non-locals as they went straight to the house quarters of the four non-local teachers.”

 

One of the two non-local teachers who were able to flee the living quarters before the explosion notified a Morning Star News contact of the attack on the teachers’ quarters of the Arabia Boys Secondary School, Lafey Sub-County, two kilometers from the Somali border.

 

“But thank God two of us managed to escape,” the surviving…

A slight majority of Protestant pastors approve of President Trump’s job performance, although there is a difference in support between younger and older pastors, according to a new poll.

The LifeWay Research survey of 1,000 pastors was released Oct. 11 and shows 51 percent of Protestant pastors approve of Trump’s job performance, while 28 percent disapprove and 20 percent aren’t sure. 

“After almost two years of actions and statements from the White House, most pastors likely consider some positive and others negative,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research.

“When asked to evaluate the president’s job performance with no neutral option, most pastors approve.”

Among younger pastors (ages 18-44), 41 percent approve of Trump’s job performance. That number jumps to 56 percent among pastors 45 years old and older. 

Young pastors, McConnell said, are “less tied to traditional political identities and remain slow to express approval of President Trump.”

Only 4 percent of African-American pastors approve of Trump’s job performance, compared to 85 percent who disapprove. 

The survey also found that:

• 
  Pastors of churches “with less than 50 in attendance are the least likely to approve of President Trump’s job performance (42 percent).”
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  Pastors in the South (55 percent) and West (57 percent)…

An official with a regional body of the United Methodist Church has stressed the importance of the concept of intersectionality in leading her to combat abuse.

Merriam-Webster describes “intersectionality” as referring to “the complex and cumulative way that the effects of different forms of discrimination (such as racism, sexism, and classism) combine, overlap, and yes, intersect—especially in the experiences of marginalized people or groups.”

Jurrita Williams, associate director of the UMC North Texas Conference’s Center for Missional Outreach, explained in a recent episode of the Dallas Theological Seminary podcast “The Table” that she first became interested in combating abuse through “intersectionality.”

“I’m a woman, been a woman all my life, and the abuses that, particularly, black women have suffered because of the historical abuse and dehumanization of black women as enslaved people, caught my attention as the Me Too movement moved,” explained Williams.

“Tarana Burke, who is a black…

After receiving heavy backlash for supporting the nomination of Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) opened up about her frustration with the hypocrisy of Planned Parenthood.

“I would note that Planned Parenthood opposed three pro-choice justices just because they were nominated by Republican presidents: David Souter, Sandra Day O’Connor and Justice Kennedy,” Collins said. 

She then recalled the organization’s line when pro-choice Justice Anthony Kennedy was nominated, saying, “They said the same thing: Women will die. This is just outrageous.”

According to the National Review, Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, condemned Collins after she cast her vote to push through the confirmation of the now Justice Brett Kavanaugh. 

Kavanaugh was accused by several women during his confirmation process of sexual misconduct. After undergoing seven FBI investigations, all of which failed to find sufficient evidence to support the allegations, the Judge was confirmed as a Supreme Court Justice. 

The organization’s PAC took to Twitter to voice their dissatisfaction with this decision saying, “Senator Collins has made it clear that she can no longer call herself a women’s rights champion.” They continued, “She has sided with those who disbelieved, disrespected, and even mocked survivors. We deserve…

A Muslim family risked their lives to save two ancient Christian texts from destruction by the Islamic State in Iraq.

According to The Christian Post, the official press agency of the Roman Catholic Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions shared the story of how two ancient Syriac Orthodox manuscripts evaded destruction for three years while ISIS controlled the city of Mosul, Iraq.

Reportedly, ISIS has destroyed numerous cultural and religious relics in the area and has burned hundreds of Christian texts. 

One family who wished to remain anonymous for their safety, however, was determined to keep the texts safe despite threat of being killed if caught.

In an interview with AsiaNews.It Father Paulos Thabit Mekko recalled the story noting that he is now temporarily in possession of the manuscripts until they can be returned to their rightful owners. The priest told Asia News that he believes that the manuscripts were stolen from the Syriac Orthodox Church of the Immaculate, a church that was demolished by ISIS.

Mekko explained, “Recently a Chaldean from Mosul contacted me saying that he had a Muslim neighbor from the time he lived in the city 20 years ago.”

He continued, “One day the man saw a lorry dump some rubbish,” Mekko explained. “He was in the area looking for some wood to cook and heat his home. Among the refuse, he found a couple of manuscripts…

Over the weekend it was announced that American author, scholar and pastor Eugene Peterson, 85, had entered hospice care. 

Peterson’s son Eric shared a message with his father’s friends and family on Friday, informing them of Peterson’s declining health. According to Christianity Today, Eric sent out an e-mail which was then posted to Facebook by Robert Creech. 

In the message Eric explained that on Tuesday of last week Peterson was admitted into the hospital for his declining health which “took a sudden and dramatic turn” in the wrong direction caused by an infection. Peterson is suffering from heart failure and dementia and according to his son, both are “advanced and progressing.”

Eric goes on to say, “He will come under the care of hospice and his medical care will be primarily palliative. As of now it looks like it will be 1-3 more days before he returns home, depending on when all the support systems are in place.”

The author of over 30 books, Peterson is famously known for his writing of his contemporary translation of the bible, The Message. Peterson has been a highly influential Christian scholar, Relevant Magazine even calling him “one of the most recognized Bible scholars in America.”

Peterson is also known for founding Maryland’s Christ Our King Presbyterian Church where he was the pastor for nearly 30 years before he retired…