The Great Divorce by Kirk Franklin

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The Great Divorce by Kirk Franklin

Patheos report– This one may start off like it’s just for the fellas, but ladies I think you can find a seat in the car as well. Let’s go!

It was a year into my marriage with Tammy. Still honeymooning, all lovey dovey, and beaming with that newfound boy meets girl type of romance. One day, Tammy and I were out to eat at a pretty nice restaurant, when a very attractive young lady walked past our table right in the middle of our conversation. Whatever Tammy was talking to me about, her voice suddenly changed into the teacher on the Charlie Brown cartoon.

The spirit of ADD attacked my mind, the focus of my eyes left the beautiful bride in front of me and turned to this mean horrible lady who shouldn’t have worn such a sexy dress and sweet smelling perfume. How dare she steal my attention from the woman of my dreams! It was her fault that I was about to get the worst thrashing in my twelve month covenant to Mrs. Franklin. Tammy stopped talking as she noticed my attention had turned to the young lady that had passed, began to roll her neck and suck her teeth like only a sista is gifted by God to do.

As i sat guilty, sweaty, in fear for my life, she spoke with the quietness of a lamb, yet the authority of a soldier. She said, softly, “ Babe, I know this is new for you, being married and everything, but you’ve got to make a choice, quickly. You can either look at her backside, or mine. But you can’t look at both.” (I’m giving you the Christian, Sunday morning Easter version of the conversation. Basically, she informed me that the old man was not going to be able to coexist in the new covenant.)

I had to choose one and divorce the other.

I had old habits I developed before I understood that salvation and sanctification were two different things and took some old hurtful habits into my marriage: promiscuity, a carnal approach to putting the past behind me, childhood addictions of pornography. Of course, my wife’s shoulders were not built for my unhealthy past. I almost crushed her in the beginning of our marriage, because one woman cannot keep up the performance of several. God never intended her to.

I never realized how much renewing my mind needed until God put Godly men in my life.

Whether its sex, power, or control (which is the same as power), you can never be who the new you in Christ was intended to be until you divorce the old one. The biggest problem in the walk with the King I’ve learned is we want to take some spoils of war with us. Men talk a lot about their crusades, women hang their “children trophies” (or whatever the celebratory identity thing it may be for them at the moment) and it defines us. It gives us the aroma of identity. But the new us — waiting at the foot of the cross or at the alter after conversion — never gets to grow and mature because we value “who we were” more than “who we are.”

Mainly because “who we are” now needs nourishment, time, and development and death. Daily.

The first thing that had to change in my new relationship to Tammy is I had to

BURN THE PHONEBOOK.

Do any of you remember the phone book? Its where you kept the numbers of those “friends” (yeah… friends.)

After I knew tammy was the one, I had to call those “friends” and tell them things were going to change. My flesh had to submit to the truth that the calls were necessary, no matter how painful.

What is interfering with your new walk in the faith? A job, a position, a bottle? Whatever you run to first — before the lover of your soul — is your phone book. You will never get the full benefits of your new marriage if your heart still belongs to someone [or even something] else. You will only get the basic package.

The premium package cost more. You gotta go deeper into your pocket when you want the premium package. You can tell the operator all day what you want. But after you “negotiate,” you have to hand over the credit card information or the next sound you’ll hear is a dial tone.

God requires all, or nothing at all; He will NEVER negotiate. Who you were, what you’ve won, who you knew, doesn’t give you a front row seat when it’s prayer time. it boils down to:

“How bad do you want it?”

“What are you willing to give up?”

“What will you divorce?”

The sacrifices my wife has seen me make has deepened our love and our intimacy. Showing her I love her for her is what erases what I had so I can enjoy what I have. As Paul counted it all garbage for the gain of knowing Christ as his Lord, I count that girl walking past me that day at the restaurant as nothing compared to the joy of knowing Tammy, my queen. But I’m careful… my victory today can be my failure tomorrow if I don’t sign the divorce papers… daily.

Source: Patheos

ISIS Chops Off 3 Women’s Hands in Mosul

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ISIS Chops Off 3 Women’s Hands in Mosul

Christian Post report– The Islamic State terrorist organization has chopped off the hands of three women and whipped five men who were caught using their cellphones in the Iraqi stronghold of Mosul, a witness has claimed.

An unnamed source informed IraqiNews.com last Thursday that ISIS militants in Iraq’s second-largest city have cut off the hands of three women, although the charges against the women remain unannounced.

The source also informed the news agency that the militant organization also whipped five men after they were caught using their cell phones to talk to their families.

“[T]he ISIS militants cut three women’s hands off for unknown charges,” the man claimed. “They also whipped five people for using cell phones to contact their relatives while standing on the celebration stage in the Cultural Compound in central Mosul.”

The ISIS militants also issued a warning to citizens informing them that cell phone use is against ISIS’ law.

“ISIS told the people of Mosul that it would whip anyone 30 times if they were caught using cell phones,” the source added.

According to the International Business Times, later reports have suggested that the women’s hands were amputated as punishment for using mobile phones. However, hand amputation is a common Islamic punishment for stealing.

In December, ISIS issued an order stating that all Apple devices were banned from each of its provinces, out of fear that the American technology could be used by U.S. security agents to coordinate airstrike attacks against the caliphate. In the order, all GPS-enabled devices were also banned.

“[I]n order to shut one of the doors of penetration the enemy uses to attain its goals and strike with exactness by means of its war and remote-guided aircraft, it has been decided to forbid the use of any electronic device or a system that has access to service to enable precise location of positions,” the ISIS statement declared.

In November, ISIS cut the cell phone networks in Mosul. The next month, ISIS cut all the phone lines in Mosul and put the city on lockdown, banning citizens from leaving the city.

A resident told The Daily Mail that ISIS cut the phone lines out of fear that residents were phoning in the militants’ locations to government forces.

ISIS’ alleged 30-whipping punishment for cell phone use is yet another in the long list of cruel ISIS punishments.

In late January, 13 teenage boys were executed for watching the Iraq vs. Jordan Asia Cup soccer match, which ISIS claims is a violation of Shariah law.

Also in late January, two men were thrown off the roof of a multi-level tower in Mosul for committing homosexual acts.

ISIS has also instituted strict punishments for smoking and drinking alcohol. One resident in Raqqa told Al Monitor that an ISIS militant broke his fingers by bending them back and forth using a pair of pliers because he was caught smoking.

Source: Christian Post

 

Australia’s Policy as regards Asylum Seekers is Barbaric, Says Priest

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Australia’s Policy as regards Asylum Seekers is Barbaric, Says Priest

Christian Today report– A priest in Australia has spoken out against the Australian government’s policy towards asylum-seekers, calling it “barbaric” and a sign of the government’s failure in its responsibility to provide care for children in its jurisdiction.

“The world’s most vulnerable children are being deliberately detained and harmed for seeking asylum,” Australian Catholic Migrant and Refugee Office Director, Fr Maurizio Pettena, told the Catholic News Agency.

“It is with deep sadness that we read the findings of the (Australian Human Rights Commission’s) report on children in detention,” he lamented.

Fr Pettena was referring to the recently-published report by the Commission, titled “The Forgotten Children,” that reviewed the conditions of child asylum-seekers who were detained for 15 months in detention camps in Nauru and Papua New Guinea.

According to the Commission, 128 detained children inflicted injury upon themselves, while 33 claim to have been sexually assaulted, and 27 refused to eat as a form of protest against their detention. In addition, 171 children threatened to injure themselves.

The child asylum-seekers fled their home countries to seek asylum and came on board boats. They are normally trafficked from Indonesia, but are intercepted by ships from the Royal Australian Navy before they can see Australian shores.

Fr Pettena criticised the Australian government’s policy towards the asylum seekers, and its decision to send intercepted children to localities that are potentially dangerous for them. The priest said the situation was leading to “innumerable cases of mental illness, developmental delays, sexual assaults and self-harm.”

“The findings in this report on children in detention leave no doubt about its credibility,” Fr. Pettena concluded.

The priest said that the policy was a clear violation of children’s rights under the Convention for the Rights of Children and urged the government to examine its policy and release the 800 children currently in detention.

“All eyes are now on Australia, to see how we as a nation respond to this inquiry,” the priest said.

Source: Christian Today

French Catholic Church Refuses to Sign Charlie Hebdo Freedom of Expression Declaration

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French Catholic Church Refuses to Sign Charlie Hebdo Freedom of Expression Declaration

Christian Today report– The Catholic Church in France will not sign a declaration on freedom of expression written by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

The declaration, proposed in the wake of last month’s terror attack on satirical French magazine Charlie Hebdo, is addressed solely to religious groups. It calls on them to support free speech, regardless of the possibility that faith could be criticised.

“No one’s concept of what is sacred may be imposed on others,” the declaration states. “Everyone is free to express criticism, even irreverent criticism, of any system of political, philosophical or religious thought.”

RSF’s Secretary General, Christophe Deloire, said the Paris shootings and subsequent fallout demonstrated “the need for a clear message in support of freedom of information”.

Public debate should not be “constrained or limited by the beliefs or sensibilities of this sector of that sector,” he added.

The declaration has received support from various faith leaders in France. The head of the Protestant Federation, François Clavairoly, Dalil Boubakeur, who leads the Paris Mosque and the French Council of Muslim Worship and the president of the French Buddhist Union, Marie-Stella Boussemart, have all signed the document.

Chief Rabbi Haim Korsia has lent his support to the principle of the declaration, but has called for a collective response from all faith leaders in France.

However, there is not a representative from the Catholic Church among the signatories. According to the Tablet, the president of the bishops’ conference, Archbishop of Marseille Georges Pontier, said that the declaration “seems to suspect religions of being not very active in supporting free speech, if not actually opposed to it”.

He noted that the Church does not sign declarations that it has not helped to draft, and expressed regret that the RSF’s campaign targeted only religious leaders, and no other groups.

Source: Christian Today

 

 

First Openly Bisexual US Governor Will Assume Office This Week in Oregon

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First Openly Bisexual US Governor Will Assume Office This Week in Oregon

Christian post report– As Oregon’s embattled Democrat Gov. John Kitzhaber announced Friday he will resign Wednesday, the state’s Secretary of State Kate Brown, also a Democrat, is set to become the first openly bisexual governor in U.S. history.

Kitzhaber is stepping down amid allegations that his fiancée misused her relationship with him to acquire contracts for her environmental consulting business, according to The Associated Press.

The state’s constitution requires that the secretary of state take over if a governor steps down or dies.

“This is a sad day for Oregon. But I am confident that legislators are ready to come together to move Oregon forward,” Brown was quoted as saying Friday. “I know you all have a lot of questions, and I will answer them as soon as possible. As you can imagine, there is a lot of work to be done between now and Wednesday.”

Though married to Dan Little since 1997, Brown has publicly identified herself as bisexual in the past.

In an essay for Out and Elected in the USA, Brown shared how she disclosed to her parents about her sexuality and how her gay friends called her “half-queer.”

“Some days I feel like I have a foot in both worlds, yet never really belonging to either,” she wrote.

Her spokesman, Tony Green, was quoted as saying that Brown still considers herself bisexual.

Brown, a Minnesota native, was earlier expected to be a top contender to succeed Kitzhaber only in 2018.

Brown, 54, will be governor until 2016.

She was appointed to the Oregon House in a similar fashion in 1991 when another Democrat resigned. She was later elected to the state Senate followed by her appointment as the first woman to serve as majority leader in 2004.

Brown is expected to influence state laws. “I witnessed the difference it makes when our community not only has a seat at the table, but sits at the head of the leadership table,” she said at a 2011 Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund brunch. “Because of my role as caucus leader to set the agenda, we were able to make civil rights and civil unions a priority.”

Last month, Brown was under suspicion for having written a letter to the Federal Communications Commission endorsing Comcast’s merger with Time Warner Cable after having received campaign contributions from Comcast, according to The Oregonian. Many consumer activists as well as the City of Portland had warned that the deal would to reduction in competition and thereby higher prices.

There are about 525 openly LGBT public officials, mostly Democrat, in government offices, according to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund.

Source: Christian Post

Christian Mother Meriam Ibrahim to Collect NRB Award for Revealing ‘What It Means to Not Be Ashamed of Christ’

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Christian Mother Meriam Ibrahim to Collect NRB Award for Revealing ‘What It Means to Not Be Ashamed of Christ’

Christian Post report– Meriam Ibrahim, the Christian mother who was held prisoner and initially sentenced to death in Sudan for her faith, is set to receive the National Religious Broadcasters’ President’s Award later in February for showing “what it means to not be ashamed of Christ.”

“Mariam Ibraheem is a modern-day example of what it means to not be ashamed of Christ,” said NRB President and CEO Jerry A. Johnson. “We are honored to welcome her to NRB15 as we rejoice with her over God’s protective care in her life.”

The Islamic government of Sudan sentenced Ibrahim to 100 lashes and to death in 2014 for the crimes of apostasy and adultery for marrying Daniel Wani, an American Christian citizen. The mother was forced to take care of her young son while in prison, and to give birth to her second child while in chains.

Ibrahim was told that she could save her life if she renounced her faith in Christ and converted to Islam. The mother refused to do so, however, and explained that she had been raised a Christian and continues to identify as one.

Following intense international pressure, the government of Sudan agreed to clear Ibrahim of the charges and released her from prison on June 24, 2014.

Although she was once again detained for carrying a false passport, Ibrahim and her family finally left Sudan for Italy following help from the Italian government. Persecution watchdog groups celebrated the departure, and called it an “answered prayer” for the thousands who had signed petitions and offered prayers.

“The ACLJ, in conjunction with nations and organizations worldwide, fought for Meriam and her family their basic religious liberties. Because of the unwavering dedication of the American people, the four are now safe in Italy and hoping to be in the United States soon,” Jordan Sekulow, executive director of the American Center for Law and Justice, said at the time.

Ibrahim, who is now living with her family in New Hampshire, has said that she hopes to return to Sudan one day to campaign for others who are facing religious persecution.

“It wasn’t easy, I can’t describe it,” she told BBC News of her time in prison. “But there are others who are in worse conditions in Sudan than those I was in.”

“Sadly, this was all under the guise of the law. So instead of protecting people, the law is harming them.”

NRB will present Ibrahim the award on Feb. 25 in Nashville, Tennessee, where the Christian mother will first be honored at the Hope for the Heart women’s breakfast. Ibrahim will be joined by June Hunt, CSO and founder of Hope for the Heart, as well as by syndicated talk show host Janet Parshall.

Source: Christian Post

 

A Jurist Says; Restoration of Religion in Public Space, a Serious Concern for Indian Secularism

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A Jurist Says; Restoration of Religion in Public Space, a Serious Concern for Indian Secularism

Christian Today report– A jurist who is also vice-chancellor of NALSAR University of Law in Hyderbad has called the resurgence of religion in public space represents a “serious concern” for secularism in India.

According to Indian newspaper Economic Times of India, NALSAR vice chancellor Faizan Mustafa spoke to Press Trust India (PTI) and said that a controversial government ad circulated on Republic Day and the subsequent statements issued by Shiv Sena presented an opportunity for examination of the current state of secularism in the country.

The advertisement on Republic Day featured a version of the country’s Preamble of the Constitution with the words “secular” and “socialist” removed.

Shiv Sena, a regional political party aligned with the right and its pro-Hindu nationalist stance, subsequently issued a statement supporting the removal of these words from the Preamble.

Shiv Sena subsequently moved to demand permanent removal of the two words from the Preamble.

Mustafa claimed that the statements of the extreme right might as well usher in a government that recognises Hinduism as the de facto state religion.   This has been a particular concern following the ascendency of Narendra Modi, whose Bharatiya Janata Party is sympathetic to Hindu nationalists.

Mustafa then told PTI that “the revival of religion in public space was a matter of serious concern.”

“The failure of India’s experiment with secularism will be the greatest tragedy of the 21st century,” Mustafa said. “Secularism is the core of modernity and the narrative of secularism is the story of progress and the exercise of reason.”

The jurist added that the first mistake India made in its pursuit of secularism was its failure to clearly delineate state and religion.

Mustafa pointed to the Shiv Sena’s call for a Hindu state in Maharashtra as another indication of the failure of secularism in the country.

“[T]he highest court in the country should have taken cognisance of this alarming move, but unfortunately this was not done,” Mustafa lamented.

Source: Christian Today

Egyptian Warplanes Bomb ISIS Targets in Respone to Beheading of Christians in Libya

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Egyptian Warplanes Bomb ISIS Targets in Respone to Beheading of Christians in Libya

CNN report– Egypt’s military carried out a series of airstrikes against ISIS militants in Libya on Monday in retaliation for the slaughter of 21 Egyptian Christians by the jihadist group.

The bombing raids pulled Egypt deeper into the widening international fight against ISIS and highlighted the extremists’ growing presence in North Africa.

The warplanes hit 10 targets used for training and storage in ISIS’ Libyan stronghold of Derna, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told CNN.

“Avenging Egyptian blood and punishing criminals and murderers is our right and duty,” the Egyptian military said in a statement that was broadcast on state television.

(Photo: Reuters/Social media via Reuters TV)
(Photo: Reuters/Social media via Reuters TV)

Islamists warn of ‘harsh and painful’ response

There were conflicting claims about what the bombs had struck.

“These were surgical strikes based on very accurate intelligence and related to degrading the capabilities of ISIS within the city of Derna,” Shoukry told CNN’s Erin Burnett.

But an umbrella group of Islamist militias in Derna issued a statement saying that the city “woke up to a disaster today as Egyptian military jets targeted civilians in residential areas in the city.”

The statement reported that the bombings had killed women and children, and it warned the Egyptian government of a “harsh and painful” response to come.

CNN couldn’t independently verify what damage and casualties the airstrikes had caused.

Egypt’s aerial assault came after ISIS released a gruesome video Sunday that appeared to show militants beheading at least a dozen Egyptian Christians on a Libyan beach.

Threats from English-speaking jihadi

The footage, bearing many of the hallmarks of previous ISIS videos of the killing of hostages, has intensified international concerns about ISIS’ deepening reach into countries far beyond its strongholds in Syria and Iraq.

The slickly produced video shows the apparent mass killing, with jihadists in black standing behind each of the victims, who are all dressed in orange jumpsuits with their hands cuffed behind them.

Twenty-one Egyptian Christians were kidnapped in the Libyan coastal city of Sirte in two separate incidents in December and January. They were reportedly from impoverished villages and went to Libya looking for work.

Although the ISIS video showed around a dozen men being beheaded, Egyptian officials said that all 21 Christians were believed to have been killed.

Some of the hostages cry out “Oh God” and “Oh Jesus” as they are pushed to their knees.

The five-minute video, released by ISIS’ propaganda wing al-Hayat Media, includes a masked English-speaking jihadi who says, “The sea you have hidden Sheikh Osama bin Laden’s body in, we swear to Allah, we will mix it with your blood.”

The video threatens Egypt, which shares a long border with Libya, and also Europe, whose shores lie across the Mediterranean Sea.

‘The right of retaliation’

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi had warned Sunday that his country “reserves the right of retaliation and with the methods and timing it sees fit for retribution for those murderers and criminals who are without the slightest humanity.”

He also declared a week of mourning in the Muslim majority nation for the slain Christians.

In a statement, Egypt’s Foreign Ministry called for other nations battling ISIS to support Egypt’s efforts and to target terrorists in Libya, as well.

The U.S. government condemned the killings, saying ISIS’ “barbarity knows no bounds.” U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry on Sunday to offer condolences, the State Department said.

Egypt is already fighting against ISIS-allied militants on its own territory in the Sinai Peninsula, where dozens of people were killed in a series of attacks in January.

Growing ISIS presence in Libya

Concern has increased over ISIS’ rising influence in Libya amid the power and security vacuum prevalent in the country since the 2011 uprising that overthrew former dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

CNN reported in November that fighters loyal to ISIS had complete control of the city of Derna, which has a population of about 100,000 and is situated not far from the Egyptian border.

Jihadists with allegiance to ISIS had also expanded their presence westward along the Libyan coast, forming chapters in cities including Benghazi, Sirte and even Tripoli, the capital, according to Noman Benotman, a former Libyan jihadist now involved in counterterrorism for the Quilliam Foundation.

In an example of the group’s spreading reach, a Libyan branch of ISIS claimed responsibility for a deadly attack on a luxury hotel in Tripoli that killed 10 people, including one American.

“There’s been a real radical Islamist presence in Libya for some time,” said Lt. Col. Rick Francona, a retired U.S. Air Force intelligence officer. “What’s worrying is now they are self-identifying with ISIS.”

Ties between ISIS branches

Questions remain over how much direct command and control the ISIS leadership in Syria and Iraq has over its North African affiliates.

The killings of the Egyptian Christians has filled in some of the detail. Before the grisly video was released, ISIS had released photos in its English-language magazine Dabiq, claiming they had been killed.

“There’s certainly communication between the Libyan affiliate and the affiliate in Syria about matters of importance to both of them,” said CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen.

He said the ties between Libyan jihadists and ISIS’ precursor, al Qaeda in Iraq, “go back a very long time.”

The links between the different branches present “a real challenge” for Western leaders, Francona said, as U.S. President Barack Obama asked Congress to formally authorize the use of military force in the war against ISIS.

“While we can come up with a military solution or a military operation in a restricted area like Syria and Iraq, what do we do when it expands to North Africa?” Francona asked.

Source: CNN

India: Is Modi Trying to Win Back the Hearts of Christians as well as Their Vote?

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India: Is Modi Trying to Win Back the Hearts of Christians as well as Their Vote?

Christian Today report– India’s prime minister Narendra Modi has asked the police to intervene in a series of attacks against Christian institutions after a burglary at a convent school in the capital.

The break-in was the sixth attack of its kind in three months. The vandalism includes an arson attack on a Delhi church last December.

Protesters have accused Hindu nationalists of being behind the attacks but the police claim there is no evidence of this.

Previously silent on the attacks, it is thought the prime minister could be trying to win back the Christian vote in India after he received a drubbing in elections in Delhi last week.

The Aam Aadmi Party, whose name means as “the common man”, won 67 of the 70 assembly seats in the Delhi state elections last Tuesday elevating party leader, Arvind Kejriwal, to chief minister of Delhi. Modi’s own Bharatiya Janata party was left with just three seats.

According to local reports, the election was marred by anti-Catholic violence. Churches were attacked and police were accused of being heavy-handed after they broke up a peaceful protest. One nun was shown on television lying on the ground outside the Sacred Heart cathedral as police attempted to haul her onto a bus.

After the attack on the Holy Child Auxilium convent school on Friday, Modi called in Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi and ordered him to take strong action against “rising crime and vandalism in Delhi.”

Modi also ordered his home secretary LC Goyal to monitor the police action.

It is highly unusual for the prime minister to summon the head of police directly. The police and the government have been accused of doing too little to help the Christian community and the anger among voters is thought to have aided the Aam Aadmi party.

Mr Bassi said: “I was summoned by the Prime Minister, who asked me to enquire into the Vasant Vihar school incident. He felt anguished about the recent attacks on places of worship of the Christian community.”

Mr Kejriwal, who was sworn into his office last Saturday, tweeted on Friday: “I strongly condemn the attack on Holy Child Auxilium school. These kinds of acts will not be tolerated.”

His later tweet pledging to devote himself to finding “systemic” solutions to Delhi’s problems was retweeted 1,500 times.

Father Savarimuthu Shankar of Delhi’s Catholic archdiocese told Delhi television: “Our only demand is we want justice and we want protection for all our churches. We want to be safe and secure. We are not demanding as Christians, we are demanding as citizens of India.”

Referring to the government, he added: “You are not able to protect a small municipal minority, how are you going to protect the whole of India?”

Source: Christian Today

 

Coptic Patriarch Calls 21 Beheaded Coptic Christians ‘Martyrs for the Faith;’ Pope Francis Says ‘Their Blood Confesses Christ’

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Coptic Patriarch Calls 21 Beheaded Coptic Christians ‘Martyrs for the Faith;’ Pope Francis Says ‘Their Blood Confesses Christ’

Christian Post report– The Coptic patriarch of Alexandria has responded to news that terror group ISIS has beheaded 21 Egyptian Christians by calling them “martyrs for the faith.” Pope Francis added that believers everywhere must rally behind the victims, saying that denominations don’t matter and all Christian blood is the same.

Fides News Agency reported on Monday that Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak, the patriarch of Alexandria of Coptic Catholics, offered “his condolence to all the families of these martyrs who gave their lives for the faith, and at the same time expresses his gratitude to President Abdel Fattah al Sisi and all the institutions of the Egyptian government for giving an immediate response to this act of terrorism.”

Sidrak refers to the air strikes Egypt carried out against ISIS targets in Libya only hours after the video showing the massacre was released. The video is titled “A Message Signed With Blood to the Nation of the Cross.”

Al-Sisi’s government reportedly hit camps, training sites and weapon storage areas in Libya held by the jihadists.

Pope Francis also spoke out against the killings, and said that the believers were murdered simply because they were Christians.

“The blood of our Christian brothers and sisters is a testimony which cries out to be heard. It makes no difference whether they be Catholics, Orthodox, Copts or Protestants. They are Christians! Their blood is one and the same. Their blood confesses Christ,” Francis said.

 

(Reuters)
(Reuters)

“As we recall these brothers and sisters who died only because they confessed Christ, I ask that we encourage each another to go forward with this ecumenism which is giving us strength, the ecumenism of blood. The martyrs belong to all Christians.”

The victims are believed to be the 21 Coptic Christians kidnapped in raids by masked gunmen from a housing complex in Sirte, Libya, in December and January.

Persecution watchdog groups such as the International Christian Concern have said that the militants who carried out the beheadings need to be brought to justice.

“These Islamic extremists continue to claim their inspiration for their actions from their religious beliefs and have once again committed horrific violence in establishing their religious beliefs. We strongly urge the Egyptian government to act swiftly to provide protection for its citizens who remain in Libya and face continued threats if they attempt to flee the country,” said Todd Daniels, ICC regional manager for the Middle East.

Beside the air strikes, al-Sisi declared seven days of national mourning for the murdered Christians.

“Egypt and the whole world are in a fierce battle with extremist groups carrying extremist ideology and sharing the same goals,” the Egyptian president said.

The Christian community in Egypt has rallied behind the murdered Coptics. Fr. Hani Bakhoum Kiroulos, the Coptic Catholic patriarchate secretary, said that both Muslims and and Christians are uniting against terrorism.

“If their aim was to divide us, they have failed,” Kiroulos said about the actions of ISIS.

“Immediate harsh condemnation came from Cairo’s Al Azhar University. And the swift retaliation on the part of the Egyptian air force on Islamic State bases in Libya also demonstrated that for the Egyptian government its citizens are all equal and that Egypt is suffering as a nation from the bloodthirsty delirium of the terrorists.”

Source: Christian Post

 

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