State-approved churches in China that were forced to close due to the pandemic are being allowed to reopen only if they use their sermons for “patriotic education” and to support the Communist Party, according to a new report.

In one region of China, pastors even were required to slander the United States.

The controversy involves churches that are part of the Three-Self movement and that are allowed to operate legally under government restrictions.

The report was released by Bitter Winter, a watchdog that monitors violations of religious liberty in China.

“Those that fail to meet the prerequisites are not allowed to reopen,” Bitter Winter reported.

In June, the Religious Affairs Bureau of Zhengzhou, the capital of the province of Henan, released a list of 42 prerequisites for churches that want to reopen. Among them, churches are to “intensify patriotic education” and “study China’s religious policies,” Bitter Winter reported. 

Churches also must promote the so-called “four requirements,” a nationwide campaign that originated in 2018 and involves: 1) requiring religious communities to ritually raise the national flag, 2) promoting the Chinese constitution and laws, 3) promoting “core socialist values,” and, 4) promoting “China’s excellent traditional culture.”

In Henan, one church was not allowed to reopen because officials did not approve the…

Democrats will require taxpayer funding of abortion, restore federal funding of Planned Parenthood, and work to overturn state-level pro-life laws under a Biden administration, according to a draft platform by the Democratic National Committee.

Democrats will adopt a new platform at their convention in Milwaukee Aug. 17-20 but released the draft platform in late July.

The draft includes much of the language from the 2016 platform, which for the first time called for the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, a federal legislative provision that prohibits taxpayer funding of abortion. It took effect in 1980 and must be renewed each year. Prior to the Hyde Amendment, roughly 300,000 abortions each year were performed using taxpayer funds.

The draft supports restoration of Title X federal funds to Planned Parenthood that were pulled by the Trump administration. It also calls for federal assistance to be used to pay for abortions in other countries.

“Like the majority of Americans, Democrats believe that every woman should be able to access high-quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion,” the draft platform says. “We will restore federal funding for Planned Parenthood, which provides vital preventive and reproductive health care for millions of women, especially low-income women and women of color, and LGBTQ+ people, including in…

John MacArthur responded to a pastor’s criticisms of his church’s decision to reopen in defiance of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s second round of lockdown orders, saying his church is “not spreading anything but the Gospel.”

“We are a church that has a reputation for the last 50 years of obeying the government,” MacArthur, senior pastor of Grace Community Church in Los Angeles County, California, said in a Monday interview with Fox News’ Shannon Bream. 

“We are a friend to this society, to every level of this society. We have been given awards and accolades and plaques from the city government, the police department, all in authority, because they recognize what an honorable congregation this church has been,” he said. 

“But never before has the government invaded the territory the belongs only to the Lord Jesus Christ and told us we can’t meet, we can’t worship, we can’t sing,” the pastor continued. “There’s no power given to the…

Students and pastors in Eugene, Oregon, took a stand against protestors on Friday who allegedly wanted to deface and tear down a cross that has been on the small private Christian college’s campus for decades.

A Facebook post entitled, “War on Racism Removal of ALL racist monuments Eugene/Springfield” sparked the protest, according to The Register-Guard. Radical Antifa activists claim that the cross on New Hope Christian College’s campus is a racist symbol because of its previous location on Skinner Butte where Ku Klux Klan members burned crosses in the 1920s.

“We will be using this event site to declare a War on Racism. This will be to identify ALL racist monuments, where they are located, how they were established, and their purpose,” the Facebook post said. “I peacefully request support in asking the New Hope Bible College…to review the history, then remove and replace the cross.”

Several emails and Facebook alerts, however, warned local “Patriots” groups that Antifa planned to tear down the cross, causing several men to stand guard at the entrance of the college armed with weapons on Friday.

Despite Antifa’s claims, New Hope members believe the cross is a symbol of hope.

“The history of the cross and how it came to reside on our campus has been well documented over the years, and there is no evidence to suggest our cross has direct roots…

Some 140 new immigrants from France found a new home this week in Israel.

According to CBN News, the immigrants were welcomed into the country despite travel restrictions and lockdowns.

“The Jews of Europe and the rest of the world are currently facing complex challenges, and every Jew should know that the gates of this country are still open, even during an emergency or crisis,” said Israel’s Minister of Immigration and Absorption, Pnina Tamano-Shata.

Tamano-Shata is also an immigrant to Israel, who came to the country from Ethiopia.

“The Ministry of Immigration and Absorption will accompany the olim (new immigrants) in their first steps towards integration into Israeli society because only together are we stronger,” she said.

Tamano-Shata added that Israel expects to welcome more than 10,000 immigrants this year.

“I congratulate our brothers and sisters from France, who are Zionists and full of love for this country, and who today, realized their dream of making Aliyah (immigration) and uniting with the people living in Zion,” she said.

The flight was sponsored by the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, which has been helping Jews make Aliyah for more than 20 years.

Already some 450,000 Jews live in France. It is one of the largest Jewish communities in the world, but many still face anti-Semitic attitudes and incidents.

Barbara Simha Bohadana, her husband and three…

Pastor and best-selling author Jentezen Franklin is calling on Christians in America and around the world to turn to God for 21 days of prayer and fasting during these unprecedented times.

Franklin, who leads the multi-campus church, Free Chapel, announced the fast on Facebook last week. He stressed the importance of fasting and prayer amid the pandemic, the economic disaster in the U.S, the upcoming school year, and the presidential election in November.

“I’ve had God deal with me and say call the Church, the body of Christ globally and at our church to a 21 day fast,” he said in a video.

The Georgia based pastor added that he will be hosting daily prayer meetings throughout the fast. He believes that by fasting and prayer, God will bring about a “divine reversal” on the pandemic.

“If my people, which are called by my name, would humble themselves“ Franklin said, citing 2 Chronicles 7:14. “That’s fasting and praying, and call on God.”

“We gotta see breakthrough, we gotta see it for business, for our nation and for our families.” he added.

“In moments like these the church prays, and the church acts,” Pastor Franklin said, according to CBN News. “We pray for a vaccine, we pray for those facing economic challenges, we pray for our children whose education and lives have been disrupted. We pray for those who are lonely and who feel lost in anxiety.  We also…

LOS ANGELES (RNS) — Every year in August, tens of thousands of people fill the seats of Angel Stadium in Anaheim, not for baseball, but for the weekend-long Harvest Crusade.

A tradition for more than three decades, the Southern California evangelistic event, founded by Harvest Christian Fellowship Pastor Greg Laurie and the late pastor Chuck Smith, has attracted millions of people since the ’90s. It has been described as the last of the big Billy Graham-style crusades in the United States.

Christian music artists entertain the crowds before Laurie shares his message of faith, loss and hope from the ball field. Toward the end, thousands of people every year rush down to the field to accept Jesus Christ.

This year, amid a global pandemic, Harvest Crusade will be different.

Instead of the in-person stadium event, Harvest ministries will stream a cinematic crusade titled “A Rush of Hope,” a film that will be released on Labor Day weekend. It will stream on Harvest’s social platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Roku and Apple TV channels.

The movie — created with the Erwin Brothers’ Kingdom Story Company — will feature messages from Laurie along with outtakes from faith-based films “I Can Only Imagine,” “I Still Believe” and “Woodlawn.” It will also include performances from Jeremy Camp, for KING & COUNTRY and MercyMe.

The film’s trailer opens with Laurie’s voice narrating as he drives an…

Ed Young, founding and senior pastor of Fellowship Church, is challenging churches across the U.S. to reopen their doors, warning that the spiritual ramifications of refusing to meet outweigh the hype of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Look at our culture. There is so much going on right now spiritually, especially among young people facing depression, anxiety, and attempting suicide,” Young, who leads the evangelical megachurch in Grapevine, Texas, told The Christian Post. “I have counted the cost of not opening our church versus opening, and I believe that risk and faith go hand in hand. It’s critical to reopen churches.”

Young, author of The Fear Virus, believes fear is what compels many churches to remain closed. Many pastors, he said, fear they’ll face online vitriol, criticism from the media, or their services will be poorly-attended should they reopen. He noted that some pastors have said they’ll suspend in-person services until they’re…